


Memoirs of the Liberation Army

by katriona_subasa



Series: Memoirs of Jugdral [8]
Category: Fire Emblem, Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Thracia 776
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, Novelization
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2019-07-10 15:52:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 33,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15952595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katriona_subasa/pseuds/katriona_subasa
Summary: The War of Liberation, the history books call it. The people of the Thracian Peninsula rising up to push back the black tides of the Empire's power. The banner of the Gae Bolg leading the way to prosperity. A war where both sides fought tooth and nail and victories came little by little. This is the story of those who fought. (FE5 Novelization)





	1. Chapter 1) Warriors of Fiana

Chapter 1) Warriors of Fiana

* * *

_The Thracian Peninsula is the land where strife and war made their home after the fall of the Loptyrian Empire. It wasn't always this way, of course, but ever since the Founders died, it has been at war. I'm not sure how it started, or even how the kingdoms ended up splitting. After all, I never pay attention to the political things since things always end up the same for a commoner like me. Knights fighting and dying for glorious causes and commoners dying because we're in the way. Oh, but that's not to say that I hate them or anything. I might as well hate the sky for being blue, or Orsin for being a hotheaded idiot with a good heart._

_Besides, things aren't so bad where I live. Fiana is a quiet village not far from the coast, close enough to the border that no one knows, or cares, if we're part of the Manster District or Thracia. Such a difference normally matters, because it dictated how you thought about things like the war between Thracia and the Manster District or the Yied Massacre, but here? Such things are pleasantly far away, or were. Once._

_In Gran 761, the Battle of Belhalla slaughtered the 'traitors' led by the Lord Sigurd, a man so knightly and kind that we had heard of him even out here and knew the charges were false, and the Yied Massacre killed Prince Quan, Princess Ethlyn, their sweet little girl, and a large portion of Leonster's finest knights, weakening the famous 'Wall of Leonster' that had protected the Manster District. In Gran 762, Thracia struck and Leonster fell. Then the Empire swept through and took control of everything. All of that had been distant at the time, and to most of the village, it still was. Or so they think._

_See, Leif, the sole surviving member of Leonster's royal line, survived that night. He survived thanks to Finn, greatest of Leonster's knights, and has been on the run ever since. And Leif lives with us, in Fiana, along with Nanna and Finn. Mother helps Finn raise Leif and Nanna alongside Mareeta and me, and over the past couple of years, we have become quite the cozy family. Meaning that the trials and political things aren't so far away anymore. One day, those things would be right on our doorstep. But that would be a long time from now… or so I had thought._

_It's Gran 776, fifteen years after the Battle of Belhalla and the Yied Massacre, fourteen years since Leonster's fall. That was the start of the Thracian Peninsula's liberation not only from the Empire, but also the tragic curse that had settled over the lands and brought about its long and bloody history._

* * *

"Finn, the whole point of me getting up so early was so that _you_ could sleep in!" I complained, scowling up at him. Finn, of course, simply smiled and continued cooking breakfast while I handled making and packing lunch. "You are such a workaholic."

"So says the girl who woke before the farmers to try and beat me to this," Finn quietly countered. A lot about him was quiet, really. A quiet monument of dignity and sorrow, brought to life by the powerful magics of 'duty' and 'loyalty'. "Ah, that sounded like I was scolding you."

"Finn, reminder that you've been putting up with me and, worse, Mareeta for years. I think you've earned the right to scold." I still stuck my tongue out at him and he smiled faintly, laughing a bit. "You're in a good mood. No dreams last night?"

"No, none." And that was a good thing. Because Finn didn't 'dream' so much as suffered through nightmares. "Ah, I'm using too much."

"Of…?" I glanced over and noticed he had the barest amount of butter in the pan, and was frowning at it. "No, use it. Please. We have way too much." I grinned at him. "Remember, Fiana is very self-sufficient! And if we had any more butter, we'd be drowning in it."

Finn continued to frown, skeptical, but did put a sliver more into the pan before resuming his cooking. I giggled and went back to finishing up lunch, while also studying Finn to make sure he was okay. Thankfully, he seemed to be, so I just focused on his clothes, wondering if they needed to be mended. The answer was, as usual, 'no' because Finn often mended his own clothes no matter what we said. I wasn't sure why, since it wouldn't have been hard. He always dressed simply and I didn't think it was just because he was technically on the run from the Empire. The only bit of ornamentation he wore was his wedding ring, lovingly tended to even after so long. I'd never met his wife, Lachesis, but I hoped to one day, and not just because I liked people. It would mean she was safe, and back with her family. And they'd be happy. Meaning we'd all be happy.

"I see our morning larks have been dancing about even earlier than usual." Mother walked into the kitchen, laughing as she reached over my head to grab the dishes and set the table for breakfast. "Shame that I haven't heard a song yet," she teased, kissing my cheek. She then pretended to try and steal some food from Finn, but he blocked her easily. "Dancing deserves music."

"What song would you like, Mother?" I asked, grinning at her. I _loved_ singing. "I bet I can guess!"

"Go ahead and try."

"Let's see…" I began singing one of Mother's favorite songs, a song that was actually foreign in origin. Traveled about thanks to merchants. Where exactly the song was from, no one ever could say. Some said Miletos, others said Isaach… the most popular origin-theories were Jungby in Grannvale or Verdane. Regardless, Mother loved it and it always made her laugh and smile.

While I was singing, the rest of the household stumbled out of the bedrooms and into living room, showing various degrees of alertness and yawning. And, of course, how 'put together' they looked. Nanna was as prim and proper as one could expect, save for how much she yawned. Leif was mostly neat and tidy, though he still had a spectacular case of bedhead that he was too sleepy to notice. And Mareeta was wide awake, with her earrings caught in her hair, her necklace slipping off, and still tying her scarf-belt on.

"Mother, why does Leif get to go kill pirates with you and not me?" Mareeta complained. Leif smiled sheepishly and ducked into the kitchen to help bring food out. "I'm just as good of a fighter!"

"You are very skilled for your age, yes," Mother demurred, more focused on setting the table. Nanna peeked over my shoulder to see what I was doing before giving her father a hug. Finn smiled softly at her (because Nanna and Leif always got his best smiles) and passed her a little bit of fruit. Which Nanna eagerly took because she always gobbled up treats, no matter how prim and proper she tried to be. "However, you are fourteen and he is fifteen."

"Ugh! It's just a year! Not even!" Mareeta pointed dramatically to Leif. "He only turned fifteen a month or so ago! And I turn fifteen in a couple of months!"

"Rules are rules, Mareeta. Now go fetch some water and milk for breakfast."

"Fiiiiiiiiiiine…" She huffed and stomped outside to get the buckets and bottles. Mother and I shared a smile, because that was something that never changed. "Ow! Who put that step there?!"

"The carpenters, I would expect."

"Uuuuugh…!"

Things like this were normal for us. Meals had always been a lively time, but they became even livelier when Leif, Nanna, and Finn appeared at our little village two years ago. Finn had been terribly wounded from a crossbow bolt, barely able to sit in his saddle, and Nanna had been in tears. Leif hadn't been, though. He'd simply glared and bargained a keepsake from his mother in exchange for medicinal help. Mother, of course, didn't take any sort of payment and helped the gladly and freely. That's how she was. Because the people of Fiana had cared for her with such kindness after they found her washed up on the river shore with countless injuries and a case of amnesia, she made sure to treat others the same. So she said, at least. I just thought she was a naturally kind person, but wanted an excuse to fall back on.

Regardless, meals were lively, loud things where we all barely remembered our manners and gossiped about this and that, and afterwards came the chaos of cleaning up, with Leif and Mareeta arguing over who washed and who dried the dishes this time, while Nanna and I scolded them for using too much soap and making bubbles fly everywhere. Mother and Finn would clean the table and take out the trash, typically returning just in time to stop a splash fight from erupting in the kitchen. And after _that_ … well, since it was mission day, there was the additional chaos of helping Mother, Finn, and Leif get everything together for the journey. Or, to be accurate, help _Leif_ get everything together. Mother and Finn were old hands at this sort of thing. Mother had led the Freeblades on missions many times, and Finn had fought actual wars. However, there were still some things I always did, and that was make them lunch.

"I made and packed a little bit extra, since I know Orsin is going to want to steal some," I explained to Mother, passing her the basket full of food. There were also some treats hidden within, but I didn't tell her that. She knew there were some anyway. "There's also some empty waterskins in case someone rips theirs again."

"Like Orsin?" Mother joked, laughing. She peeked inside, smiling warmly at the food. "Well, with a meal like this, I'll have the strength to fight the pirates all on my own."

"Let it serve as encouragement to come back and get more!" I giggled, pleased, and then looked to the hunting bow resting against the wall nearby instead of being tucked with the rest of her things. "You're not taking your bow?"

"Mmm…" Mother set the basket down with her things and picked up the bow, studying it closely. Like always, with a bow in hand, she seemed to… well, 'transform' was the only word I could think of. She held her head higher, her posture straightened, and she held the bow as if it were an extension of her arm, in a way that was different from how she held a sword. And it all went away when she set it down again. "Not this time. It's just pirates."

"If you're certain…" Honestly, no matter how skilled at swords Mother was, to the point of being dubbed a 'swordmaster', I sincerely believed bows were her best weapon. "Oh! The jerky! I knew I was forgetting something."

"I'll go get it. I need a better talk with Mareeta anyway." Mother kissed my head and rested her forehead against mine. "Ah, I am going to miss you."

"You say that every time, Mother."

"It's true, every time." She kissed my head again and then patted my back. "And always will be."

She left to go talk to Mareeta, and I checked the basket to make sure there was nothing else I missed. But I was soon distracted by Leif leaning on my back to peer inside the basket. I quickly shut it, just to mess with him, and then jumped up to hug him.

"Aw… little Leif is leaving on his first mission~!" I teased, pinching his cheek. He batted my hand away and made a face. "Seems like only yesterday you were hiding in my skirts!"

"Stop making things sound weird!" Leif complained, rolling his eyes. I snickered, since while the statement was true, I hadn't been _wearing_ the skirts. He'd been hiding in the girls' closet during a game of hide and seek with the children, and happened to be behind my section of it. Which made for hilarious teasing. "Grr… I shouldn't find you a seashell or something, then."

"That you were considering it is enough for me." I pulled him into a hug, giggling when he squirmed. "But you should find something for Nanna, not me."

"The hell?!"

"Language."

"Heck!?" He wriggled out of my hug and bolted into the back. "I'm checking my pack again!"

"Sounds like a good idea!" I kept on giggling, because he could just be so _easy_ to tease. But I didn't linger for long, because I noticed how bright the sky was getting, which meant it was almost time for everyone to leave. So, I began moving Mother's things outside, for her to pick up on the way out.

"I think that's everything." Nanna, of course, had already been helping her father with his things, as she always did, and so, the two were off to the side outside, waiting for everyone else. "Ah, but here…" she began, taking off her necklace and holding it out to Finn. It was a pretty necklace, with a gem I didn't really recognize. Not that surprising really, since such pretty jewelry tended to be way outside what a commoner could afford. "You should take this."

"No, it'll keep you safe while I'm away," Finn refused, shaking his head. He then took the necklace to hook it back around her neck. "Besides, necklaces suit you far better than me, little dove."

"If you're sure, Father…" She fiddled with the pendant, the dawning light making it sparkle. I'd heard the necklace was a good luck charm from Finn's deceased sister, a woman named Alicia. A means of protection. Every time Finn left, Nanna would try to give it to him, and every time, Finn would refuse. It was practically their goodbye, at this point, almost always the same. So, the next bit would be… "But you must remember to be safe, Father. We have to meet Diarmuid together. You promised."

"That I did." Finn kissed her head and hugged her. "And I can't have Lachesis dragging me back from death to scold me."

"Mother very much would. Not to mention Selfina and Glade." Nanna hugged him back tightly, leaning into him. "Please try to come back soon?"

"As soon as I can."

I turned away, pretending I had only just stepped outside and thinking of the names I'd over heard. Selfina and Glade, I knew, were two friends of Finn who they hadn't seen in almost ten years. As for Diarmuid, Nanna told me that was her older brother, and he lived in Isaach. I hadn't really heard why he was there or anything, only that it had something to do with Lord Sigurd's army and the battles surrounding them. Meaning sad and complicated and all around not fun to talk about. So, we didn't ask. Diarmuid's separation supposedly played at least some part in why Lachesis disappeared, though. Or something. Finn never talked about it; I knew Nanna prayed that her mother was with her brother, and that they would all be together again, one day.

But that day wasn't today. Today, it was mission day, so when Leif, Mother, and Mareeta finally stepped outside, we all did one last check to make sure everyone had everything they needed. Then we met everyone else at the village gates, since everyone always saw the Freeblades off on mission day. I held Patricia's hand as she said goodbye to her big brother, Halvan, and teased Orsin about making sure he didn't forget anything _again_. And, like the others in the village who stayed, I made sure to keep waving farewell until they were out of sight.

As soon as they were out of sight, though, Nanna, Mareeta, and I dashed back to the house and pulled out the sweets we had hidden under my bed, a special treat we had bought from Ith a few days ago. After all, if they were going to leave us alone, then we were going to make sure we had fun and spoiled ourselves. Simple, yes?

* * *

"Eleri!" Mareeta's voice echoed from the bathroom. Nanna and I, cooking lunch in the kitchen, exchanged a knowing look. "I forgot to bring clean underwear again!"

"We need to make a checklist for you whenever you take a bath!" I called back, already taking off my apron. Nanna giggled and focused on stirring the stew, with some fresh shrimp from the coast. The Freeblades were due to come back today, so we were being a little fancy for food. "Hang on, hang on. You didn't forget a period-rag again, did you?"

"I'm not even on my period!"

Giggling, I ducked into the shared room and snagged Mareeta some underwear before knocking on the bathroom door and opening it. "Now, who's the best big sister?"

"The one who actually _gives_ me my underwear!" Mareeta snatched them from me and quickly began getting dressed so that she could get a start on her chores. I made to leave, but my eyes fell on the very faint mark on her lower-middle back, on the left side. Swirls of black 'ink' that resembled a crescent moon. "Something wrong?"

"No, not really." Sighing, I half-smiled and shrugged when she glanced at me over her shoulder. "Just, again, I swear that's a Holy Mark." And that it was darker, but that just sounded crazy.

"Why would some random mercenary's daughter have a Holy Mark?" Mareeta rolled her eyes, as she usually did when the topic came up, and pulled on her shirt to hide it. "Holy Blood is for fancy noble people, like Nanna and Leif. Nobles don't become mercenaries."

"We live in odd times." After all, we had the missing prince of Leonster hiding in our quiet little village, alongside a Leonster knight and the knight's daughter, who was also one the few scions remaining of Agustria's royal family. It wouldn't have surprised me if we had another 'secret noble' in the house. "Besides, it could've been inherited from your mother. Nanna inherited her Holy Blood from her mother." Leif had it from both sides of his family.

"Bleh, I think it's just something the slavers did to mark me. A lot of my time with them is blurred in my head." She pulled on her pants before her fingers lingered on her wrist. Remembering the weight of the shackles, even after all this time. "That's all."

"Yeah…" And there was no way I could continue the conversation at that point. I knew the story. When she had wandered away from her father, Mareeta had been captured by slavers and dragged all the way to Conote. That's where Mother found her, killing all the slavers and saving her. They had looked for her father, but he had likely been in another city entirely, so Mother had brought her home. The first of the children she saved and took care of. Not the last, of course. But the first. "Mareeta?"

"Yeah?"

"You're the best little sister."

"And you're the best big sister." She grinned at me, no hard feelings, and I smiled in relief, since I worried I had hurt her. "And on the remote chance you're right, then I'm officially claiming you as my sister and dragging you to whatever fancy estate I get from it!"

"Sounds like fun, but I know we'd be bored very quickly."

"True!" She laughed and tied off her scarf before slipping on her jewelry. "But still."

"Of course." I giggled and left the bathroom finally, making my way back to the kitchen.

However, my good mood faded as I remembered something I had seen a few weeks ago, while I was tending to some injuries on Mother's back. I'd sworn I had seen some sort of mark on _her_ back, a pale gold one that covered the entire left side of her back. But then I had blinked and it was gone, so I wasn't sure if I had actually seen it. Then again, I wasn't sure why I'd imagine such a thing. Except maybe as a subconscious want for people to see how special my loved ones were, and to love and respect them in turn? I supposed it was possible, yet...

Screams made me jump, and I nearly cracked my head against the wall. After a moment, I ran to the door to see what was going on. Ideally, it would've been children being extra loud while playing tag, but this was not a world of ideals and never would be. So, it was soldiers, with the Empire's coat of arms proudly displayed on their armor.

"Nanna…?" I called, trying to not shake. I'd known this could happen. Leif's pursuers wouldn't just stop looking just because he made it to a quiet village in the middle of nowhere. But to actually see it… and to not have Mother near… "Get away from the village. Now. Run towards Ith." I turned to look at her, and saw Mareeta in the room as well. Nanna was still in the kitchen, staring in horror. She'd never dealt with the Empire without her father near and now… now, we were… " _Now_."

She tried to run. She did. She threw off her apron and ran, dodging Imperial soldiers. Just as Mareeta tried to fight back and buy her some time, grabbing one of the swords we had lying about. I tried to be a distraction or something, because that was all I could think of. However, the village was surrounded, so there was nowhere to run, and no matter how skilled Mareeta was, a single swordsman couldn't stand up against an entire squadron. So, sadly, we were all captured and, worse, whoever was in charge knew who Nanna was. Knew that Mareeta and I were the daughters of Eyvel, and knew who Mother was. I wondered how. Did someone betray us? Had someone seen us in Ith while shopping and reported us? I'd likely never learn.

"Lord Raydrik, here are the girls." And so we were presented to Raydrik, a man I knew well from rumors. The Lord of Manster, who had once been a noble of Conote and who had betrayed King Calf, Leif's grandfather, and thus playing a role in Leonster's downfall. And here he was, smug as can be. "Apologies for taking so long."

"Yet here we are, so I suppose I will let it slide," Raydrik chuckled. He looked over us like Finn did in the market when trying to determine what piece of meat to buy, and focused on Mareeta first. "What is your name, girl?" Raydrik waited, but Mareeta only snarled at him and spat at his feet. "Heh… stoutness is cute as well. And this one..." He focused on me, and used his finger to tilt my head up. "Quite the beauty. One would think you had noble blood with those looks." He laughed at my glare and then turned his attention to Nanna, who met his gaze calmly and cooly. "So this is the daughter of the legendary lance knight, Finn. I've heard your mother was the princess of Nordion as well. Seems you haven't lost your dignity living in squalor like this." He laughed again, and I began subtly trying to escape, to see if there was anything I could do. "Well, I've got quite the gift to present to the Empire! This will secure my power for sure." He beckoned the soldiers and turned away, his focus already on something else. "Things should be quite fun while we wait."

"Nanna and Mareeta are fourteen," I spat at him, thinking quickly. He grimaced at the note, and I was glad he had _some_ standards. Because I knew the fate of those 'of age' at the hands of powerful men. All women did. Their age would be one of their best protections. "And if there is one hair on their head harmed, Mother and Finn will tear you apart!"

"I would love to see them try when I wield this." He brandished a sword that seemed to devour the very light around it. "A gift from Lord Veld, in thanks for my part in Manster's fall. It protects me from everything." He smirked and leered at me. "Besides, you made no mention of yourself." Er… no, I hadn't. Which was a very, _very_ bad thing. But nothing I could do about it now. "Now then, the best way to Manster from this hovel is…"

The soldiers jerked us forward, kicking our legs to make them move. However, the ones holding me didn't keep a good grip. They were distracted by Nanna, who had nearly broken free of the soldiers who held her, due to being _much_ stronger than she looked, and she kept on breaking free, despite more and more holding onto her. So, I used that as a distraction and managed to escape, quickly ducking into the house for anything I could use as a weapon. My eyes fell on the overboiling pot of stew and I seized it, burning my hands in the process. It was heavy, and I almost dropped it, but I did manage to throw it at the soldiers who followed me. Which actually included Raydrik, and he had caught a faceful of the stew as well as the pot, and while he screeched, Mareeta and Nanna managed to free themselves and we all ran. Or tried to. They weren't the only soldiers, of course, and one of them was an archer. Who shot me in the leg and sent me to the ground. Nanna and Mareeta automatically turned back, and that second of hesitation was enough for them to recaptured and dragged away. Screaming.

"Wench…!" Raydrik, however, kicked me in the stomach before gesturing to the soldiers around him. "Been a while since you all had such a pretty lass, so have your fun with her!" he ordered. I tried to not cry, both from pain and fear. "But don't kill her. I want her in Manster."

I heard Mareeta scream. I heard Nanna call my name. But when I tried to stand, I ended up kicked again, so I curled into a ball instead, whimpering. Pain lanced through my leg each time the arrow was jarred, because no one bothered removing it. Why would they? So long as it was in my leg, I'd have difficulties running away. And that made me a much easier… whatever.

Finished with whatever fighting, and killing, they had been doing, the soldiers began crowding around me. One dragged me up by my hair. Another pulled my arms behind me. I thought a third reached for my legs. But before they could grab them, they were engulfed in flames. One, two, three, four… all of the soldiers around me went up in flames. Some died instantly. Others screamed and writhed, whimpering from pain.

"Keep your hands off my daughter!" And Mother protectively wrapped me up in her arms, one hand clinging to me and the other wielding the Fire Sword Dagdar gave her. "You're not worth the ash I'll turn you into…!" she hissed, pulling me even closer. Fire sparked off the sword and more soldiers were on fire. They weren't moving anymore. "Tch…" Mother pulled me away from the soldiers, and distantly, I noticed there was more fighting. I didn't know… well, no, I did know. It was the Freeblades. Halvan and Orsin… Finn and Leif… they were fighting. But I was out of it, so… "Eleri? Eleri, can you hear me?" Mother helped me sit on the ground, leaning against an outside wall. "Eleri?"

"They took Mareeta and Nanna…" I whispered. Their screams… all because I got shot, they were… "I'm sorry. I tried, but I couldn't do anything."

"They have value as hostages. I'm sure they'll be fine until we get to them." She looked to the arrow still in my leg, and the bruises mottling the skin around it. She gently rested a hand on my neck, and then on my wrists. I wasn't sure if my neck was bruised, but my hands and arms definitely were. "That has to be painful."

"No, not really." It didn't compare to the pain I felt in my heart. I failed Mareeta and Nanna, and I failed them terribly. "Needs to be removed. Cleaned."

"That it does." She cupped my face, made me look at her. "Eleri, did they…?"

"No, they were about to. They hadn't yet."

"Good…" She hugged me gently, kissing my hair. Only now did I notice how muddy and dirty I was, but she didn't care. "Good…"

"Eyvel, you around here?" Took a moment to recognize the voice. Dagdar was here. "Ah, there you are, and there's Eleri," he commented, walking over. He was splattered with blood, but he didn't care one bit. Then again, Dagdar used to be a bandit, a bandit-leader at that. Mother trounced him when he tried to raid Fiana, though, and ever since, he'd been trying to reform. "Do I need to keep back?"

"Dagdar, you came to help?" Mother asked, smiling warmly at him. She didn't answer his question, mostly because she sensed I had no answer, and Dagdar kept his distance just to be safe. "How did you know we were in trouble?"

"Bit of luck, truthfully. We were coming in to visit." Dagdar looked around curiously, noting something I was too out of it to process. "So many soldiers, though… why would…?" He frowned, his eyes sharpening, and then he turned his attention back to Mother. "Leif. Him, Nanna, and Finn."

"...Yes, he's the prince of Leonster. Yes, I've known." Mother sighed. "Finn said that they needed to leave to protect the village, but I had argued against it. Leif and Nanna needed stability."

"Well, you're not wrong. I saw how scared and sad they were when they arrived." He shrugged, unbothered. "And hey, free reason to smash Imperial skulls in. What's not to like?"

"Thank you, Dagdar." Mother smiled. "Thank you."

The next couple of hours were a blur to me. Mother kept me right by her. Finn treated my arrow wound and the worst of my bruises. Leif hugged me tightly. Orsin ruffled my hair, and Halvan patted my shoulder. I thought I saw Tanya and Marty, which made sense since they were rarely far from Dagdar, but I wasn't even sure on that. Everything was hazy, like they were when Mother first brought me to Fiana.

In fact, nothing really solidified until Orsin asked, "why didn't they take Eleri with them?"

"Raydrik gave me to the soldiers because I threw a pot of stew in his face," I mumbled, not looking up. I wasn't even sure which house we were in. "Sorry. There's no lunch for you. I'll have to make more."

"That is so not the issue." Orsin scowled, no doubt irritated I had even brought it up. "You can't seriously think-"

"Orsin." However, Halvan interrupted him and shook his head before kneeling in front of me. It took a moment to realize I was in a chair. I couldn't focus. Nothing felt real, and all I could think of were Mareeta and Nanna… "We look forward to the food, Eleri," he told me. I managed a little smile. Maybe. "But we are glad you, at least, are well." He patted my knee and stood up again, facing Orsin. "What are you even doing here? Shouldn't you be teasing Tanya to the point of tears again, Orsin?"

"I didn't make her cry!" Orsin protested immediately, flustered. I wondered what had happened _this_ time. Orsin had a habit of putting his foot in his mouth even on his best days, but around Tanya, he always managed to shove his whole leg in there. "She was fine!"

"She was scowling." Halvan shook his head. "This is why she doesn't catch your feelings, you know."

"What feelings?! I don't have no feelings!" Orsin flailed a bit, and I couldn't help but giggle, amused. "Er… okay, on the one hand, glad you're laughing. On the other hand, _you're laughing at me_!"

"We're always laughing at you." Halvan, of course, kept perfectly stoic and deadpan. Because that would make Orsin fluster even further, and it was practically everyone's favorite habit. Even though it was so easy. "Come on. Let's go patrol, and save Eleri's ears from your loudness."

The two left, Orsin trying to defend himself, with Halvan 'conveniently' misinterpreting. Feeling a little lighter, and a bit more focused, I looked around the room, wondering just where I was. Unfortunately, all I got was 'room in a place', so I made myself stand up to explore and help myself be even more grounded. Of course, I nearly fell because my legs protested the arrow and the bruises, but I used a wall to limp along. I kept away from windows, though. I didn't want to know how many were dead outside. I _really_ didn't want to know how many were people I knew and grew up with.

"I'm not a child anymore!" In fact, I made my way further inside, mostly because I could hear Leif yelling and he rarely yelled. "They were captured in my place!" he shouted, sounding close to tears. When I made it to the room, I saw he was yelling at Mother, with Finn silently standing nearby. "I have to go help them! I'm tired of sacrificing people for my own safety!"

"Leif…" Mother began. She looked tired, and I wondered how long they had been arguing. I wondered why Finn wasn't… "Finn, you convince him."

"I know this look, Eyvel, because Lady Ethlyn would get the same look in her eyes when she decided something and nothing would stop her," Finn replied neutrally, posture ramrod straight. His eyes were dark, though, and I wondered… I wondered if Lady Ethlyn had this same sort of look when she took her daughter to the desert, and died in the sands. "I am sworn to protect him and he will leave no matter what."

"I see." Mother sighed and reached back to fix her ponytail. "Very well, we will leave in the morning. Together." She was expressionless, even as Leif smiled, elated. "It will be a harsh journey, far worse than leaving to fight pirates. We must prepare."

'Leave in the morning.' The words felt like knives. They would be leaving. I would be waiting, alone, in that house. And I couldn't stand that. I couldn't stand just waiting, being helpless, being alone, when… when…

"Um…" My mouth moved before I could think twice, and Mother whirled to face me. Leif seemed surprised, but not Finn. He must've noticed me instantly. "L-let me come too?" I begged. Mareeta and Nanna were captured because of me. I had to help them. "Please?"

"Absolutely not!" Mother refused instantly, shaking her head. Her ponytail fell out again because she hadn't finished fixing it. "It's going to be dangerous and you don't know how to fight, Eleri."

"Well, clearly being left behind isn't safe, so I might as well be in danger with everyone else!" I winced as the words echoed back, far louder and harsher than I had wanted. "So… um…"

"I'd like it if Eleri came along," Leif said quietly, throwing his weight in. He even smiled, catching my eye. I smiled back slightly. "I'm sure Mareeta and Nanna would feel better too."

"..." Mother looked at both of us and then at Finn. Finn was completely expressionless, though, so Mother sighed. "Very well," she murmured. "You may come too, Eleri. But for now, let's help clean things up in the village. The soldiers left quite the mess, and I want to see what weapons and the like they have left for us to use. We don't have a lot, and we're equipped for bandits and pirates."

Today was the second worst day I had ever experienced. I just wanted it to end. But I nodded, because I had to do _something_ , _anything_ , to help.

* * *

The house was a lot quieter without Mareeta and Nanna. But their things were still here, so I packed some of their things in my bag. That way, when we found them, I could give them the items. Like Nanna's Earth Sword, a keepsake from her mother. I should've told her to grab it instead of just running. But, then again, against so many soldiers… it probably wouldn't have mattered. I hadn't thought of anything better, so…

Sighing, I rested my head against Finn's door, reminded of why I was out in the hall instead of in my room. I had realized while packing that I hadn't apologized, so I'd limped over to do that. But Finn was talking to ghosts, and I knew better than to interrupt. Rambling at them was probably the only way he'd stayed sane after so many years of being the sole protector of two children, one of which the Empire _really_ wanted dead. It did make it awkward to overhear, though, mostly because… well...

"It should've been safe. It should've been… ah, but Yied was supposed to be safe as well, and you know what happened, Lord Quan." The worst part was how monotone the voice was, like he was just so drained that even emoting was too much. "Lachesis… I'm sorry. I said I'd keep Nanna safe, but I… ha… I wonder why I said that. I clearly can't do anything. And now I can't even keep Lord Leif safe… I'm sorry, Lady Ethlyn..." The second worst part was how much he hated himself.

Nanna and Leif thought the world of Finn, and Mareeta and I were convinced that Finn was one of the strongest people in all of Jugdral. Raydrik hadn't been mocking when he'd called Finn 'legendary'. At least, that's what I thought. But I supposed a lifetime of battle and stress made him see his failures all too clearly. And I knew I didn't want to listen to him hating himself, so I chose to walk away, vowing to apologize in the morning.

"Oh, Eleri, should you be walking?" And that led to me walking right into Leif. Almost literally, but thankfully, he spoke in time. "You were shot, after all," he reminded me, frowning worriedly. I glanced down at my leg, the bandage hidden by my skirt. "Oh, wait, did you need pain medication?"

"It's lonely in the room," I murmured, going for a different explanation than 'I wanted to apologize to Finn for letting his daughter get kidnapped'. Besides, it was true. "I don't think that room has ever been so quiet." Mother had one of the larger houses in Fiana, mostly because she had lived with the village elder before he passed, and she 'inherited' the house. That was why she and Finn could have their own rooms. But even with so many rooms, Mareeta and I had always shared. And when Nanna came, she had shared with us. "Still can't believe that old storage room isn't too small for you." Mother had converted one into his room, mostly because Mother really didn't have that many things, and Leif really had been too old to share with the girls.

"It's cozy!" He forced a smile, and I let him pretend he had me fooled. "I mean; might be a pain if I get any taller, but for now, I'm still good."

"I don't think you're going to get much taller." I hoped he didn't, at least. He and I were the same height, and I knew he'd be smug if he became the taller one. "Broader, though. Orsin and Halvan grew wider once they hit fifteen, sixteen." Fighting probably helped with that, though. "Before I forget, thank you for arguing for me to come along."

"Oh, it's totally selfish. You're the best cook." He grinned and I had to laugh. "More seriously, I just feel better if I can see you. I went away, and Nanna and Mareeta disappeared." He sighed, and pulled a beautiful choker out of his pocket. "I'd gotten this for Nanna too. I got gifts for you and Mareeta as well."

"Wait to give it to me until we've saved them." I made myself grin. "I'll tease you about the choker then too."

"If you did anything else, I'd have to see if you were sick." He returned the choker to his pocket, and regarded me seriously. "However, I do feel like I should apologize for asking you to come. It's going to be dangerous, especially since you don't know a weapon yet."

"I'll learn… something." Though I doubted I'd be very good at it. I had never wanted to fight before, meaning I would be an absolute beginner. "Besides, there are other ways I can help. We'll collect herbs along the way, for instance, and make medicine. Just like Finn taught us."

"And there's cooking and cleaning and mending…" He suddenly grinned. "Maybe you can stab people with needles!"

"Leif!" Still, I had to laugh. He was good at that. Leif wasn't the strongest or smartest or anything like that. He wasn't the most charming by any means. But he was warm to be around, and he gave the impression of being right there with you, no matter the circumstances. And he always seemed to know what to say to make people smile. "Well, maybe. We'll come up with ideas. For now, though, I think I'm going to make myself some tea."

"And I need to at least pretend to sleep." He skipped around me and grinned. "I'll bother you in the morning."

"Considering when we wake up, I think I'll be the one 'bothering' you." I giggled again, and he rolled his eyes. "In the morning."

I turned away and limped towards the kitchens, trying to remember what teas we had. However, I was soon distracted because Mother was sitting there at the table, in her same place as always, looking at where Mareeta and Nanna normally sat with a stony expression. The expression she had when she was _really_ mad and I…

"Mother?" I called hesitantly. She glanced up at me, expression unchanging. "Are you mad at me?"

"Of course not, Eleri," Mother replied instantly. However, she was still stony. "I'm mad at the situation, Eleri. Not you."

"You sure?" My voice was horribly small. "I mean…"

"Oh, Eleri." She sighed, smiled, and held out her arms. I immediately raced over for a hug, almost tripping in the process. "I'm not angry at you. I'm angry that you were in so much danger. I'm angry you were hurt. I'm angry that I wasn't here. I'm angry that Mareeta and Nanna were taken. I am angry at the soldiers who think they can get away with such a thing. But not you. Never you."

"Are you sure?" I should've just believed her, but I knew she had to be mad about me coming along. I was sure it was a stupid thing to do. But… "I…"

"I am very sure." She pulled away, studying my face. No longer was she 'stony', but warm and kind, as usual. "I'm sorry I made you feel that way."

"No, I-"

"Eleri." Mother cupped my face and smiled. "One day, I will figure out how to help you believe you may feel what you wish, and you don't have to be perfect. You are one of my precious girls, after all."

"Okay, Mother…" Though, that wasn't quite… I didn't necessarily want to be 'perfect' or anything. I just… Mareeta wasn't the only child Mother saved. She'd saved me too.

When I was little, I had lived in a small mountain village, probably in Thracia. Bandits, however, ransacked it, and I had been among the many captured. I hadn't been old enough for them to rape, as they did some of the other women, but they had kept me around as a servant. If I did things 'perfect', then there was less chances of them paying attention to me, leering at me while they waited for me to be 'old enough'. Thankfully, though, Mother had killed them long before that happened, and taken me in because my village was gone. Mareeta had been loud and happy about having a 'sibling', and I had mostly healed. But some habits were too ingrained and I needed to repay her somehow. I _needed_ to be helpful for her. I just…

"I was going to make some tea," I whispered, deciding that the subject needed to be changed. I didn't know how to explain all of that to her, even now. "Would you like some too?"

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea," Mother replied, standing. She wrapped an arm around my shoulder and had me lean on her to take weight off my leg. "I think we still have some snacks. We all skipped dinner, but it will be good to have something in our stomachs."

"Okay." I smiled at her, relieved, and she smiled back. "That sounds good."

And, starting tomorrow, I would be as helpful as possible to her and the Freeblades. I would make up, somehow, for getting Mareeta and Nanna captured and for forcing my way on the journey. Somehow, I'd help them. Somehow. I… I had to.

* * *

_Eleri, 16 years old_

_A resident of Fiana, and one of the many who supports the Freeblades by handling things such as food and laundry. She's quite proud of the job, personally, finding that a supporting role suits her well._

_Adores her family to pieces, and does her best to let them know that. She and Mareeta are particularly close, both because they've known each other for over ten years and because they had similar experiences with being captured and held by unsavory people._

_Knows that Nanna loves Leif, and that Leif loves Nanna, and delights in teasing both of them while trying to push them together. And they aren't the only ones of their age group she tries to matchmake either._

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Notes: Well, well, welcome to _Memoirs of the Liberation Army_ , the promised FE5 novelization. Since _Memoirs of the Holy War_ will be hitting Game-Chapter 7 soon(ish), I figured it might be a good idea to start this. Since there's a lot of other projects, updates will be whenever I feel like (okay, truthfully, that explains my _entire_ update schedule, especially in recent weeks, but shush). So, meet Eleri, who was briefly mentioned in the epilogue of _Memoirs of Belhalla_. I'm not answering any questions about what her class is or anything. You'll find out!
> 
> Since the story starts in Gran 776 (hence the game's name), Leif is 15 (turning 16 very late in the year) and Nanna is 14. I believe Mareeta's official age is 15, but we're just going to have her turn 15 later this year. And since this connects with _Memoirs of the Holy War_ , yes, Finn is Lachesis's husband, and the father of both Nanna and Diarmuid. Ah, and since this connects with _Memoirs of the Holy War_ , this story's 'timeline' is going to be longer than the actual game. The actual game has it at about a year, but we're going about three years (because Gen2 in _Memoirs of the Holy War_ starts in Gran 779, and not Gran 777 as it does in-game). Meaning there will be long timeskips.
> 
> Dagda and Eyvel's conversation is based on their in-game conversation, as is the conversation with Raydrik (though I added a bit to it, since it made sense to me that Mareeta would fight more). Technically, Nanna apparently has both her Earth Sword and a mend staff (since she starts with them), but I figured this made a bit more sense, given Raydrik. The necklace mentioned briefly here is the necklace Alicia gave Finn back in _Memoirs of the Holy War_. The 'engulfed' in flames thing is because Eyvel starts with a Fire Sword. Those who know the game's lore know why Eyvel has such a bond with bows.
> 
> Also, since Heroes is both a) giving us localized names and b) being inconsistent with some of these localized names (namely changing a few we had before), I'm going to do my best to keep things consistent, but apologize in advance if I change something unexpectedly.
> 
> With that all said, welcome and I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Next Chapter - Village of Ith


	2. Chapter 2) Rescue

Chapter 2) Rescue

* * *

_The Empire found out where Leif was, and threw their soldiers at our small village to get him. Thankfully, he was away, so instead, they captured Nanna and Mareeta. Leif, of course, decided to go after them, and the Fiana Freeblades were coming with them. And me, because I had to do something. I couldn't just wait for them to come back, and it wasn't like anywhere was safe. Might as well be in danger with everyone else._

_Please, gods… keep Nanna and Mareeta safe..._

* * *

No matter how many times I did it, it was interesting, doing laundry while camping. Also not that difficult. The hardest part was making sure the clothes were washed downstream of where we gathered water for drinking and cooking. And there was something so soothing about it this time, because laundry was… well, laundry. It was such a normal chore, even with all the craziness.

"I really don't get why people keep complimenting me," I mumbled, studying my reflection in the water while letting some clothes soak. It was, of course, the same reflection as always. Simple brown hair, green eyes… Mareeta liked to joke that I was a tree in a past life. I supposed I did look pretty and all, but… "Seriously, so confusing."

"What's confusing?" Tanya suddenly leaned over me, looking at the water too. "Is there something interesting there?" she asked, frowning. I shook my head and went back to the clothes, pulling them out of the water to check on the stains. "So, what were you doing?"

"Trying to figure out why people keep calling me an 'exceptional beauty' or whatever." If anyone was an exceptional beauty, it would definitely be Nanna. "I had some time to kill while waiting for these, so I thought I'd try to figure it out."

"Well, you got all your teeth, I suppose. That's a good thing." She grinned and I had to laugh at that. "I'm sure that the soldiers and nobles think that villagers should be all mangy and covered in shit, so you surprise them."

"I suppose." I shrugged and rinsed the clothes one more time before piling them in my basket, hefting it up and bracing it against my hip. "Anyway, that's all. Why come over here?"

"Was walking around after hunting and saw you." She frowned as she looked at my hair before sighing gustily. "I don't get how simply tying your hair at the bottom there does a damn thing, by the way."

"It keeps my hair in one big mass." And since my hair fell all the way down my back, to my hips… keeping it in 'one mass' was a good thing. "It's less liable to get caught as it would with a ponytail."

"And braids are out because…?"

"Can you imagine how long _that_ would take?"

"Nope!" She grinned again, and I laughed again. Tanya and I didn't hang out much, mostly because she was more of a fighter and much more competitive than me, but when we did, we always did seem to bounce off each other well. A shame she was only interested in boys, Orsin in particular. "Don't get why you grew yours so long anyway. No one else in your family has _that_ long of hair."

"Because I was too lazy to get it cut, of course!" Not really. I only had one memory of my birth-mother, due to time and the trauma of losing her, and in it, she had long brown hair, the same color as mine. So, wearing it long was just how I honored the woman who gave birth to me… and the woman who traded her life for mine without a second's hesitation. "How did your hunt go?"

"Fairly well, all things considered. No one's been overhunting. Yet." Tana sighed and led the way back to camp. I limped along, since my leg was still injured, though I did my best to hide it. "Need me to carry that basket?"

"No, I'm good." I smiled at her, and mentally noted to do better about hiding the limp. I was already a liability, so I had to minimize how much of one I was. "Thank you, though."

"If you're sure…" She frowned at me worriedly, but then shrugged. "Ah, whatever."

When we returned to camp, Tanya went over to check on Marty, who was shy and anxious, especially with more boisterous people like Orsin around. And when things were lively, which… this camp was. Despite the seriousness of our mission, everyone was determined to keep up morale and cheer, and so, everyone did their best to be as energetic as possible. I did what I could as well, smiling as bright as I could as I made my way to the drying line. Leif immediately met me there and began helping me so that I wasn't having to stress my leg so much.

"Aw… you are just the sweetest, Leif~!" I teased once we settled into a pattern that didn't result in us nearly clonking heads. "Simply the sweetest!" I reached over to pinch his cheek, giggling. "I could just eat you up!"

"Reminder that you're only a year older than me," Leif deadpanned, batting my hand away. He rolled his eyes and fixed the pins on the shirt he was hanging. "One year."

"But I'm still older and I get to make outrageous comments that make you roll your eyes." I grinned. "But really, thanks."

"It's just laundry." He smiled, though, and laughed after a moment. "I wonder what people would think, seeing a lord doing laundry."

"That you know about the little things in the lives of your people, of course." I poked his cheek and grinned at him. "But you can worry about stuff like _that_ later."

"True." His smile faltered for a bit, but returned before long. "So, see any interesting animals by the river?"

Leif and I gossiped a bit, mostly to keep from focusing on how Mareeta and Nanna weren't with us. As we did, I glanced around camp, taking stock and eavesdropping. After all, eavesdropping was the best way to learn about things.

"I feel like a little old lady setting up for gossip," Dagda joked, laughing loudly. He, Finn, and Mother were sitting near the fire nearby, drinking tea. "Why no ale?"

"Because I'm not carrying around kegs," Mother instantly deadpanned, sipping her tea with grace and dignity. Her answer just made Dagda laugh more. "I don't think even Finn's horse could bear the weight of the amount of ale _you'd_ drink."

"We'll make Marty carry them!"

"Have some mercy on the boy," Finn replied, smiling. It was always fun listening in when Dagda was around, because he always helped Mother and Finn relax. "You could drink Beowolf and Chulainn under the table, and I saw them be stone cold sober after an entire night of outdrinking the knights."

"You mean 'cone sold stober', Finn!" Dagda teased. Both Finn and Mother laughed at that old joke. "Anyway, Finn, what's so special about this blend? Besides being ridiculously tasty. You insisted on it."

"Hmm? Ah…" Finn's cheer faded for sadness, but still, he smiled. There was something bittersweet about the smile, though. "My sister used to mix up special tea mixes for the people she loved, combining the flavors they liked with medicinal herbs to help with common problems, like headaches or upset stomach. She mixed up a batch for myself, Lord Quan, and Lady Ethlyn before we left." He sipped the tea, and for a split-second, I thought I actually saw a person behind him, a lady with long red hair. But I shook my head and rubbed my eyes, and the 'person' was gone. Knew I'd stayed up too late. "I do my best to save it since she died so many years ago, but I could so easily imagine her making me some that… well…"

"Ah, I get that." Dagda nodded. He looked down for a moment before looking back at Finn. Mother continued drinking her tea, though she had a bit of a frown, like she was trying to remember something. "What did she die from?"

"Not sure. I last saw her… I suppose it's been fifteen years now since I last saw her?" Finn frowned. "No, sixteen. It's been sixteen. It's Gran 776 now. She's been dead for about ten years, though."

"You didn't see her in the six years in between?"

"Leonster fell."

"Ah." Dagda smiled sympathetically. "Right. I needed to remember that tidbit now. Knew you were from the north by your accent, but didn't think…"

"Well, the point of hiding is to not be found, or suspected." Finn pointed at Mother. "I only told her because I was _trying_ to leave."

"I still maintain that the children needed stability in order to grow properly," Mother replied with great dignity. She smiled softly. "And they needed to be around children their age. Besides each other, I mean."

"It has been good for them, yes," Finn agreed quietly. He glanced over to Leif and I quickly focused on the clothes to pretend I hadn't been listening in. "I just…"

"It was bound to happen, Finn. I more want to know _how_ they learned."

"Yes, that is troubling…"

The three of them began quietly discussing that, too quiet for me to eavesdrop without being obvious. So, instead, I turned my attention to the outer part of the camp, where Havin and Orsin sparred. As typical, Havan remained calm while Orsin _really_ got into it. But Orsin had even more energy than usual. Probably because he had his 'special' axe or whatever. 'Pugi' or something? I wasn't sure, nor did I understand why it was so fancy or anything. But Orsin declared it his best weapon, for whatever reason. I often called it 'pudgy' just to mess with him. He made the funniest faces. Of course, Orsin wasn't the only one with a 'special axe' now. Havan had one too, a 'brave axe'. Again, I didn't know what was so special about it, but I did know that Finn had a lance that was similar. I also knew that Finn looked at the axe sadly for some reason, like he knew someone who had used something similar. Probably did, in Sigurd's army. That had been a very varied army, according to the stories.

Well, it didn't matter, I supposed. If I didn't finish laundry soon, then I'd be behind on cooking. And with this group, that would be a _huge_ travesty.

* * *

I had traveled to Ith before. It was the closest town-town to Fiana, meaning merchants actually visited. Many times over the years, we had made family trips to go shopping for various things. Food, clothes, etc. But because of that relative wealth, it was also a frequent target of the disease-ridden rats of society: bandits and pirates. And, sadly, it was under assault. By pirates. Because they always just wanted to take things that others earned, because they wanted it. Lazy, entitled bastards.

"Lifis's pirates," Mother sighed, tiredly looking at the raid. Everyone else was getting their weapons out. "They never can just stay down, huh? Be too simple. Tanya?" She held out her hand towards her. "Might I borrow your bow for a moment?"

"Uh… sure?" Tanya replied, handing it over. Along with a couple of arrows, of course. "Why? If it's a warning shot, I _can_ do that."

"Oh, this is more to make me feel better." As always, Mother's entire demeanor changed into something grander, more dignified, as soon as she had the bow up. In less than a second, she drew back the arrow, aimed, and fired, catching a bandit right through the eye. He dropped like a stone, dead before he hit the ground. "There we go." She handed the bow back to Tanya, who took it silently. "Now, let's deal with them, shall we? No one minds, ri-" She sighed because Leif and Orsin both charged forward. "One of these days…" She gestured and the others jumped into the fray as well, though Finn decided to mount up first and take the far side alone, away from everyone. "Now, Eleri…"

"I'll go warn people?" I suggested hesitantly. I only had to glance towards the fighting to see the damaged buildings, and see the dead. "That way you all can just focus on the fighting, and with luck, I can hide in someone's house."

"I… yes, that's a good idea, actually," Mother replied. She smiled back and pulled me into a quick hug. "I'm counting on you. Don't strain yourself, or your leg, okay?"

"I won't let you down!"

I waited a little bit, just for the Freeblades to push the bandits back and reduce the chances of me getting caught in the middle. As soon as it seemed safe, though, I went to the nearby houses, knocking on doors and telling them of the danger. Most people were grateful for the warning, with quite a few even giving me precious bits of coin or medicines as thanks. Others… well…

"Oh, great job pissing off the pirates!" Some were like the man I talked to now, scoffing and yelling at _me_. "Now they're just going to kill us all!" he growled, rolling his eyes. "Great freaking job!"

"So, I think you have order of events confused," I replied slowly. This was the fifth such person to yell at me, like _I_ had brought the pirates. "They were already on the way to do that. I'm just here to warn you."

"Oh, I get it. You're those fancy 'we are fighting for you!' types." He tried to shove me, but someone, a woman with similar features, stopped him. "Piss off!"

"I must be speaking another language without realizing it." My words got drier and drier and I knew my expression was locking up. I tended to draw all my anger inward, an old habit from when I was a servant for the bandits. "They were already attacking. I am here to warn you of it, so that you can fortify defenses or evacuate. If you wish to remain here so that the pirates can tear your guts out through your throat, be my guest." He tried to attack me again, but this time, the woman moved between him and me. "But I'm not going to listen to you throw a tantrum." And with that, the man just stormed off. "Freaking hell…"

"I'm so sorry about my brother," the woman murmured, turning to face me. She even bowed her head. "He didn't used to be so rude, but he's so frustrated. None of our hard work is really paying off. Everything we have goes to the stupidly high taxes or gets taken by the pirates as 'tribute'."

"There's no need to apologize for his bad behavior," I replied, shrugging. I had to shift my weight a bit, because I'd stood too long listening to him. My leg throbbed. "He's a grown-up and he can apologize for himself. Though, really, I'd be less annoyed if he got the order of events right. We seriously just walked up on them attacking. Houses to the southeast are rubble."

"Thank you for the warning." She lifted her head to smile at me. "I'll let our neighbors know as well, so you can keep on moving."

"Thanks!" I winked and skipped off, though it hurt my leg. But I wanted to give the impression of no hard feelings, so I endured. "Stay safe!"

Then it was off to the next few houses. Ith was a bustling place, after all, and it had different 'sections' of houses, plus a market. It wasn't as big as, say, Manster, but for the middle of nowhere, it was pretty big. Which meant there were a _lot_ of people to warn. Some of which snapped at me, but I snapped right on back because like hell I was dealing with them throwing tantrums when their lives were in danger. Thankfully, though, most were very grateful and simply thanked me and moved on.

"Pardon me?" In the middle of evacuating one of the more northern sections of Ith, a quiet voice called out. Frowning, I turned to see a young man holding a bow approaching me. "I'd like to join your group and help out," he explained. I blinked slowly, not quite processing. "Who do I speak to for that?"

"Mother, Finn, or Leif," I replied automatically. It never occured to me until now that we might get more people. "They're over there." I pointed to the fighting, where the Freeblades were pushing the pirates back towards the water. "But ask them. I'm just making sure the townsfolk are safe."

"Of course." He bowed. "Thank you very much, Miss…?"

"Eleri."

"Ronan. A pleasure." And he jogged off, heading right for the fighting without the slightest bit of hesitation.

"Well, that was weird." I sighed and winced as pain spiked up my leg. "Ugh…" I limped over to a nearby house to lean against it and get my weight off of my leg. "No blood through my skirt, at least… that's good…" I closed my eyes to rest briefly, thinking. By this point, it would probably be a good idea to find a place to hide. But there might be others who needed to be warned, so I should probably keep going and...

"Well, aren't you a pretty lass?" Someone caught me by the waist and slammed their dirt covered hand over my mouth to keep me from screaming. "Boys, we got a prize to take back to the boss!" the someone laughed. I struggled, kicking and squirming, but they had me off my feet easily, since I had all my weight on one foot. "Quick, before those pests catch on!" And before I knew it, I was thrown into a boat and we quickly headed out into the deeper waters. And I didn't know how to swim.

This was the worst.

* * *

Typical. Just typical. I try to get out of the way, and just get captured. This was just freaking great. And I was with _pirates_. Ticks and fleas of the sea, no better than bandits. Now I wouldn't say that they couldn't reform or anything. Dagda did. But Dagda had to get his head kicked in by Mother first. Repeatedly. I supposed I should count myself lucky, though. I was just thrown into a back room with another girl instead of raped on arrival. Yay.

"Ah, hello," the other girl greeted. She was very pretty, though she was dressed in very fine clothing. The two staves tucked under her skirts hinted she was a cleric of some sort. "My name is Safy. You are?"

"Eleri," I replied, leaning against the wall and carefully stretching out my legs. That boat had been cramped as all hell. "Lovely place, huh?" Boring, more like. It was walls of chipped, yellowing paint and that was about it. "So… ah…"

"It's certainly been an interesting experience." She smiled kindly, and I just smiled back, because it wasn't like she was wrong. Depending on your definitions. "I was a bit worried, but it seems this Lifis has some kindness in his heart. He's convincing his people to help Tahra fight against the Empire."

"Oh, please. He won't actually do that. He's just saying he will so that you'll have sex with him or something." The words were automatic, but then I actually processed what she said. "Wait, Tahra is doing what now?"

"Ah, your leg!"

"...Pretty sure this Tahra… person… thing… isn't doing my leg?" I frowned at her, but she paid me little mind, instead pushing up my skirt slightly to where my injury had completely bled through the bandages. I hadn't noticed, but she must've seen the blood on my skirt. "Oh, that. Sorry about…"

"Hmm… arrow wound, straight through… tricky for medicines…" She definitely wasn't paying attention. "Looks good, though… no infections… always tricky when it comes to puncture wounds…" She absently reached behind her to her two staves, feeling the tops for which one was which. The one she grabbed was a typical healing staff, but I was curious about the other one, which almost seemed to have a wing shape for the top. "And let's see…" And just like that, she healed up my leg with only a tiny little scar on the back of my leg. "Good, good! It healed up nicely." She used her sleeve to wipe away the excess blood and smiled at me warmly. Since I was staring, though, it quickly became sheepish. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'll often hyperfocus when I see an injury…"

"No, it's fine." I just knew how healing typically worked and uh… well… "I don't have any money on me to pay, but what do I owe you?"

"Why would you owe me anything?" She frowned, genuinely confused. "That's not something you should worry about when hurt."

"Afraid the churches in most places don't agree with you, but that's clearly because you're a healer-healer." Thankfully, Finn was freaking amazing at making medicines, and Nanna could use healing staves, so our medical costs went _way_ down when they joined the family. "So, instead, I'll just say 'thanks."

"You're welcome?" She was still confused. "A… healer-healer?"

"That's how Mareeta and I differentiated. Finn told us about how you have 'people who heal' and then _healers_. Healers have their oaths of neutrality and the like." Finn's older sister had been a healer. "So…"

"Finn? Sir Finn?!" She suddenly leaned forward eagerly, and I was mildly distracted because pretty girl in close proximity to my face was always going to be distracting no matter what sort of situation we were in. "Of Leonster?"

"Maybe." I narrowed my eyes, switching to 'protective'. Not that Finn needed _my_ feeble protection, but you know. "Why?"

"Is he with Prince Leif? Of course he is. It's Sir Finn." She fell back and clasped her hands briefly in prayer. "Oh, thank you, Naga, goddess of light and good… I might be able to get help yet."

"For… Tahra?" I bit my tongue, despite wanting to snap that we left Fiana to save Nanna and Mareeta, _not_ save every person that asked. For one thing, that was mean. For another, I was sure Leif would do just that. "Well, they were in Ith, and I'm fairly certain that they're coming after the pirates to remind them that pillaging is only temporarily lucrative, particularly when your insides are on your outside." Maybe. Maybe they were on the way. But it was a bit of a worry, so I snuck to the door and peeked outside. No one. Not a single person. I even looked up at the ceiling to make sure. "Well, well… that's interesting…" I looked back at Safy. "Want to see if we can escape?"

"Hmm…" Safy pressed a finger to her cheek, thinking. "Well, I do think these are nice people at heart. Banditry is wrong, yes, but I wasn't raped or killed on arrival and Lifis listened when I said 'no' to his propositioning." Sad that had to be the bare minimum of decency, but what confused me is that I'd heard many stories about Lifis. And all of them pointed to that being _very_ unusual behavior. "Still, I would like to see Prince Leif and Sir Finn as soon as possible, and if I have to count paint chips one more time, I think I might go mad." She smiled and I had to muffle my laugh. "So, let's go."

Safy and I both moved as quietly as we could, with me being very aware about how neither of us were really dressed for 'sneaking'. But there were no guards, and before long, I found a window and managed to climb out of it, though I did rip my skirt on a nail. Safy, thankfully, managed to get out without ripping anything or losing her veil and staves and the two of us quickly made our way around the building. Noticing the front was guarded, I decided to just… climb up the nearby ledge to at least get out of range. Safy found it much harder to follow, not just because of the staves, but I was able to grab her arm and help pull her up after we got her staves up first. Probably injured my shoulder and back while doing so, but hey, we were both on the ledge. In the dark. Seriously, it was super dark out here. Clouds covered the moon and sky and _no one_ had torches really beyond the couple at the entrance. We might as well have been walking through ink. And, of course, since we were still in mid-late winter, it was _freezing_ , meaning we had to move slowly because we were tucked into each other's sides for warmth. All of this was not helped, of course, but the figure who suddenly blocked our path. For a split second, I thought they were a shadow come to life. Mostly because of the black they wore and it was _really_ freaking dark. But whoever they were, they stood there silently, unmoving and unblinking. Sword at the ready, but no move to actually skewer us. His looks were a bit foreign, though, with his garb reminding me of Mareeta's. Made me wonder if he was from a place closer to Yied. There were many of Isaachian descent around there.

"Ah, hello again," Safy murmured, bowing her head. I gave her a weird look. "He's with the pirates, but he is _very_ kind. He checked up on me a lot." And I had a sudden suspicion he was why Safy remained okay. Would certainly explain the difference between what I'd heard from Mother and what I heard from her. "We are trying to leave, though. Can you help us?" The man studied us for a moment before nodding and walking off, beckoning us to follow him. "I thank you!"

This just seemed stupid. But, well, he didn't kill us out of hand. That was a plus. And we could always jump down if we were wrong. So, I followed Safy, who followed the man. As we walked, I gradually heard sounds of battle flit through the air, and those sounds became louder and louder with every step. I smiled when I heard familiar shouts filter through the clanging, such as Orsin's boasts or Dagda's laugh. If it weren't so dark, I'd probably be able to see them and I thought of calling out, though I feared distracting them.

But it soon didn't matter. The swordsman stiffened suddenly and drew his sword. I jumped back, assuming that he was turning on us, but then I saw him parry a lance. A very familiar lance. Before I could make the connection between 'familiar lance' and 'seeing familiar lance here', Finn emerged from the shadows and whirled to slam the shaft of the lance at the swordsman's head. He ducked, and tried to attack Finn, but only caught Finn's sleeve because Finn was already moving to strike again.

I had always known Finn was skilled. I had seen him spar before, and even fight some bandits. But that all paled to the sheer, near overwhelming skill and strength I saw now. Finn matched the swordsman easily, striking twice with every swing. Taking advantage of the reach he had to keep the swordsman from coming close. He was like a song in motion, nothing wasted, and he controlled the battle completely. It was almost breathtaking. Except… well… the swordsman had been helping us… so...

"Finn! Finn, it's okay!" I shouted, running for the two and waving my arms to catch their attention. Finn glanced over at me and quickly parried and disarmed the swordsman, flinging it somewhere behind him. "He was helping Safy and I escape."

"...Is that so?" Finn asked neutrally. He glanced at the swordsman and took a step back, lowering his lance to his side. "Well, I think I'll keep the sword, just in case, but if that is true, then I see no issue with you leaving." The swordsman glanced at us, quietly murmured something, and jumped down from the ledge, easily disappearing into the night. Finn watched him leave and then, as soon as he was out of sight, dropped his lance to hug me. "Are you all right?"

"Just fine. Even better, actually." I smiled at him and then gestured to Safy, who curtseyed and smiled in turn. "She's a healer, so she actually fixed my leg up!"

"I see…" He breathed a sigh of relief and let me go, bowing to Safy. "Thank you very much, miss." He kicked his lance up to his hand and went back to pick up the sword he 'stole' from the swordsman. "This way, Eleri. Let's get you to Eyvel."

"Of course…" Still, I winced at how tense he was. "I… I'm sorry for scaring you." I caught his sleeve and looked down. I knew this was exactly why they didn't want me to come, but I… "Since my leg is healed, I can put more effort into learning some sort of weapon…"

"Eleri…" He sighed and hugged me again, one-armed this time because of his lance and the sword tucked under his arm. "You know; there's something Alicia once said to me. I remember it even now."

"Hmm?"

"It was 'I will forgive you for anything and everything, so long as you stay alive'. I had been apologizing because she'd asked me to be careful, and I ended up with a very bad injury. Very bad. I still have the scar from it. But she smiled and said that to me." He hugged me a little tighter. "And I feel the same way about everyone here. So long as you stay alive, I will forgive anything. So, don't apologize, Eleri. I'm just glad you're safe and alive."

"Okay…" But the mention of 'apologies' reminded me of something else I needed to apologize for. "I meant to say this earlier, but I'm sorry about Nanna as well. I couldn't…"

"There were many, many people. And I know what you suffered, and almost suffered, trying to keep her safe." He smiled sadly. "I'm sure she'll be fine. She's Lachesis's daughter, after all."

"She's your daughter as well, which really helps her chances." After all, Finn had survived all these years, endured so much trauma and pain, and still held as strong as the earth itself. "I know that. But I'm still sorry."

"Greet her with a smile. That's what she'll need." Finn held me a little longer before letting go, and nodded to Safy, who had remained back. "You should come with us as well. This way."

Safy and I followed Finn silently, with Safy and I huddled together a bit for that little bit of extra warmth. By the time we made it down from the ledge, the Freeblades, plus that blue-haired archer I had seen earlier, had captured Lifis. Which was great except it made me feel a little silly for escaping. They made it there so quickly, after all…

"Eleri!" Still, it was a relief to see Mother, even if she nearly suffocated me with her hug. "Are you okay?" she whispered, kissing my hair and rocking me. I nodded since I really couldn't talk. Seriously, her hug was tight! "Good, good… I am so sorry, Eleri… you did everything right, and still I…"

"I'm fine, Mother," I managed to replied, hugging her back. I needed to reassure her. "I'm fine…"

Mother continued holding me, letting the others handle Lifis and the rest. I just barely managed to extract myself from her hug when Safy walked up to Leif and, after he glanced at her, curtseyed. "Hello again, Prince Leif," she murmured, keeping her head down. "You likely don't remember me, but my name is Safy. I was the bishop's daughter in Tahra." ...Oh, Tahra was a _place_. Not a name. Oops.

"That name is… oh, no, I do remember," Leif replied. He then smiled warmly. Meanwhile, the other Freeblades were raiding the place and making sure Lifis didn't go anywhere. "You're Linoan's friend. How is she doing?"

"Not well, sadly…" She did her best to remain poised, though she had to clasp her hands to hide their shaking. "After the duke died, we were put under the empire's rule, but it's been horrible. They're corrupt, ill-suited to rule, and worse, they started Child Hunts."

"Child hunts…?" Leif frowned, and I held onto Mother's sleeve at the words. There had been rumors for years about 'demons' that kidnapped children, but I never thought there was any _truth_ to them or anything. "Seriously?"

"Yes, and our people just couldn't take it. So we're attempting a rebellion, with Lady Linoan as the new duchess." She sighed, biting her lip. "We tried to bribe our freedom, but despite our efforts, Bloom refuses to let us remain a threat and so, the full might of his army is bearing down on Tahra. Seeing the threat, Lady Linoan bade me to see if there was any resistance groups that might help." She finally raised her head, and looked at Leif entreatingly. "I know I have no right to ask, but…"

"Tahra sheltered me for a long while, despite all the risks. I can't forget that debt." Leif nodded, his eyes resolved. I simply sighed. "We have to save Nanna and Mareeta first, but as soon as we do, we'll head to Tahra." He turned his attention to Lifis, his eyes narrowed. "Now, as for you… I think we should-"

"Lord Leif, please, the man is not as evil as he seems." Safy smiled warmly. I felt like snapping because he was a _pirate_. If he wasn't as evil as he seemed, it was because he was worse! "When I told him of what Tahra suffered, he agreed to fight for it. Please, might he come along? I know piracy is an unforgivable act, but..."

"Well, if you say so, but we'll keep him watched, just in case." Leif looked at Mother, silently asking if she thought this was a good idea. After a moment, she nodded, agreeing to it. "Very well, then. Let's head back then. It's been a long day."

I could've shaken everyone for letting Lifis come along, but I checked the urge because it wasn't like it was my decision or anything. And I was soon ambushed by others, like Tanya, who gave me their own hugs and checked that I was okay. In the middle of that, I noticed that there was actually one more person among the group than expected, a priest by his robes, though he made no effort to tend to anyone's injuries. Probably one of the more 'typical' priests. But who the hell was he and why was he here? I had no idea, and the iron-grip Mother had on my hand told me that I should just focus on reassuring her. Mysterious person would be introduced. Eventually.

* * *

Mysterious priest's name was August. Apparently, he had seen the pirates loading me onto the boat and informed the Freeblades of my capture. He also showed them where the hideout was, which I personally found suspicious, but I bit my tongue because it _did_ mean I was rescued. As for why he was traveling with us now? Apparently, he was also heading to Manster. How convenient. ...I really tried to not be biased, but gods damn it, he was just suspicious! But, thankfully, he didn't try to make friends or anything. And at least he had knowledge of medicinal stuff since he and Safy talked herbs and medicine, so there was some truth to his story. Or something. I had no idea, really. I stuck close to Mother to reassure her that I was just fine. She needed me more.

"Mother, why is it that you always fight with a sword?" I asked absently, more focused on mending my skirt than the actual question. It was evening and almost everyone was asleep. Mother wasn't, because she was on watch, and I was assisting her in it. And fixing my skirt because it was expensive to replace. "I've always been so curious."

"As opposed to what, Eleri?" Mother replied, tending to her blade while keeping an eye on the tent Lifis and Ronan shared. I had no idea what Leif said to convince Ronan to work alongside Lifis, given everything Lifis had done to his home and friends, but Ronan agreed to be Lifis's primary guard and didn't protest a single bit. "An axe?"

"A _bow_ , Mother. What other weapon do you use?" I rolled my eyes, but kept on sewing. Thankfully, it had washed easily. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to, of course. But I _have_ been curious."

"Mmm… well…" She held her sword up briefly, checking the edge. Or maybe checking that she got oil on it properly. "The bow does feel like it's a part of me. The bow itself feels like it's my flesh and bone. Each arrow feels like a piece of my soul. But I don't have any memories associated with a bow. If one could call it that."

"But you do with swords?"

"One vague memory, yes. A little boy with blue hair and a smile brighter than the sun, who taught me swords because bows were weak in close combat." She closed her eyes. "There's other vague things. A young girl who looked like me, perhaps a twin sister. A little boy, younger than me, with the same colored hair who might've been a little brother. Others, much older. Vague pieces, all of it."

"But only one vague piece had a weapon."

"Yes, so I thought that maybe if I pursued the path of the sword, I might remember more. I never did, but I can't help but keep at it anyway. I'm stubborn like that."

"No need to tell me that." I stuck my tongue at her and she laughed. "I wonder why you remember that little boy though." I tied off my thread and held up my skirt, smiling at a tear well-mended. "Maybe you married him?"

"That doesn't feel right." She laughed again, but I heard the strain in it this time. "Actually, the thought makes me cringe, so I think it's _really_ not right."

"But you do think you were married." I looked at her, studying her expression. She tried to be stoic, but I'd done my best over the years to pick up the tiny signs that gave her true thoughts and emotions away. "We can switch to a different topic if you want, Mother."

"Mmm… no, I suppose you _are_ old enough for us to have a serious talk about my amnesia. I mean; you are sixteen." She made a face. "The number of times I heard the other women in the village wondering about when you'd find a 'good man'..."

"Men are nice to look at, but kissing one? Having sex with one? No thank you." A lady? Sure! Man? Nope. "Wonder why that never occurs to them. That I just like-like girls."

"Who knows? I sure don't." Mother shrugged. "You can marry whoever you want, of course, and if you want kids, you can adopt. Or find someone willing to… ah… donate?"

"Mother!" I had to laugh at that, though. I really did. "They'd definitely have to be a friend."

"I'd hope whoever you have sex with is a friend, no matter if they're also your love or not." She smiled softly as I continued laughing. "You _are_ grown, though. I keep thinking of you and Mareeta as my little girls, but you're of age and Mareeta will be fifteen in a few months."

"Ready to kill pirates with you." As soon as we saved her and Nanna. "But no, we don't stay little forever."

"No one does." She fell silent for a moment, collecting her thoughts. "Whenever the topic of 'marriage' comes up, I do get a pang in my chest. So, I think… if I wasn't _married_ , I at least had a love. Someone I was ready to spend my life with. And then I…" She ended up in the Malaren River somehow, which flowed all the way from the north and skirted by Fiana, though it was infamous for its fast current and hidden rocks. She couldn't remember how or anything, of course. But when she was pulled out of the water, she was alone. "It also makes me wonder if I had children as well. Which…" She winced. "Well…"

"Oh, Mother…" I set all my sewing things to the side and scooted closer to her. "I hope you don't think you abandoned them or anything. It's not like you asked to lose your memories or anything. You were near death when the others found you, right?"

"They said it was a miracle I still breathed, based on all the internal damage I had. And all the water in my lungs." She raised a hand to her hair, pushing it back slightly to feel one of the scars on her scalp. "It was another miracle that the only thing I seemed to suffer was amnesia. With the number of hits my head took, I honestly should've been brain-dead."

"See? Definitely not your fault." I kissed her cheek and rested my head on her shoulder, taking her hand. "Besides, even if you do remember, it's not like you'll stop being my mother, right?"

"Of course not. You and Mareeta are my girls. Always."

"So, even if you do learn, then the family just gets bigger. After some initial awkwardness." I hummed a bit, trying to think of something outrageous, yet plausible, to make her laugh. "Oh, if you had a son, then maybe he and Mareeta could get together? Not blood related or anything and they wouldn't have been raised together. They just kind of share a mom. Sort of."

"Eleri!" As expected, Mother did laugh at that. "You're ridiculous."

"Of course I am! I'm _your_ daughter." I grinned up at her. "It's a requirement!"

"Imp."

We turned the talk to less serious things. How pretty the stars were. What meals we should make in the coming days. Things of that nature. Talks that were normal, except for how Mareeta didn't chime in. I hoped we could see her soon. I hoped we'd seen Nanna soon. I just wanted them to be safe. Then I… I'd figure out what I'd do from there, or something.

* * *

_Leif, 15 years old_

_The prince of Leonster, only living person with Njorun's blood ever since the Yied Massacre. He also carries the blood of Baldr in his veins, and it's quite possible he is the last living person with that Crusader's blood as well, since no one truly knows if his cousin, Seliph, still lives or not (or Oifeye, cousin to Lord Sigurd). The legacy weighs heavily on him_

_Gifted in swords and lances, though he focuses on swords so that he can use his mother's treasured blade, the Light Brand, a magical sword that lets him strike from afar and can even heal him if necessary. He often pushes himself when he shouldn't, resulting in his training being 'uneven', but his true strength lies in giving people courage and in his determination_

_Often feels hopeless inferior to his legacy, and feels the shadow of his parents and his older sister over him. He's certain that if Altena had been here instead, Nanna and Mareeta would've been safe. He feels his weaknesses keenly and can be reckless in proving his strength._

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's notes: Yes, I know, the title is different. This is actually two chapters smooshed together because I thought it flowed better. Iirc, FE5 is the first FE to have paralogue chapters, and the second half of this chapter portrays that very first one. You get it if you save all three villages in chapter 2. FE5 is also the first FE to feature fog of war, though for WHATEVER reason, it's less 'fog of war' and more 'ink of war' because the 'fog' is represented as black squares. Oh, and also you don't have torches available except as a drop. Ftr, FE5 really hates the player. (Another thing, the reason why the capture mechanic is so important? You have no money and there's no vendor trash like gems.) Also, also… Fe5 was the first fire emblem to feature fatigue, escape maps, and rescue. I want to say it was also the first fire emblem where you raise weapon rank via using the weapons, instead of having it fixed (FE4) or having it be a stat that could be raised like str or sped (FE1 and FE3). Could be wrong, though.
> 
> You can't recruit the swordsman (Shiva) on this chapter, but you recruit Lifis by capturing him and not releasing him (not too hard, since he's unarmed iirc) before seizing the map. Orsin, Leif, and Finn all have personal weapons. Orsin has the Pugi, a 1-2 range axe with high accuracy and high critical. Leif has the light sword, a magic blade that can also double as an emergency vulnerary, and Finn has his trusty brave lance, which also boosts his luck by ten. Leif and Finn, of course, start with their weapons, while Orsin has to get his from his house in chapter 1. Havin can also visit his own house to obtain the brave axe (and have a callback to how Lex acquires his back in FE4). The conversation Finn mentions having with Alicia is from Chapter 9 (Hound) iirc, back when they helped liberate Nordion.
> 
> Finn is in an… odd space, training wise. If we're looking from Fe4's perspective, then he's likely a promoted unit with all the strength that entails. In Fe5, though, he's unpromoted, no doubt for balance's sake. Now, there are ways you can justify it all (particularly since Finn returns in the second generation of FE4 at the same level he left 1st gen in), but I like the idea of Finn kicking ass all over the place. So, he's going to kick ass all over the place.
> 
> No one here is aware that Altena is actually alive, hence Leif's bio. Leif in Fe5 is… honestly not all that great combat wise? When you take FE4 into account, Leif is essentially a 'trainee', and he has a late game promotion to 'normal unit' (these are used very loosely). Now, in FE4, he can become _completely_ broken, so… but anyway, Leif's best strengths are in the number of people he can give passive supports to and his immunity to being fatigued.
> 
> Next Chapter - The Gate of Kelves


	3. Chapter 3) The Gate of Kelves

Chapter 3) The Gate of Kelves

* * *

_Members of a village militia, the lost heir to a fallen kingdom, a knight of the fallen kingdom with a horse, a former bandit, the former bandit's daughter, the former bandit's lackey (for lack of a better word), a villager who volunteered, a healer-healer, a 'former' pirate, and a suspicious bishop. We are certainly a strange sight on the road. Thankfully, no one is really traveling nowadays._

_I stay close to Mother, who clings a little. She's scared for Mareeta and doesn't want to lose me too. Doesn't help that I'm… really not that great at defending myself. I'm learning! But it is definitely a work in progress. So long as Nanna and Mareeta stay safe, though, I can deal. It'll be fine. ...Please, let it be fine. Please..._

* * *

The area here was heavily wooded, though you could see where there had been more trees. Entire swatches of forests were nothing but stumps, and something about the color made me think this was a recent thing. Why would they cut so many trees at once? Then again, I was likely just being paranoid. It wasn't as if I was a lumberjack or an expert in trees. But I knew I wasn't imagining how _quiet_ everything was. It was like even the animals had fled in fear.

"We've passed two villages, and I've seen no people walking about," Dagda murmured, keeping a tight grip on his axe, even as he pretended to be relaxed by having the axe rest on his shoulder. "Not a good sign."

"No, it's not," Mother agreed, resting a hand on her sword. Following her lead, most of the Freeblades did the same, with Tanya even stringing her bow and getting an arrow out of her quiver. Safy gripped her staff tightly and I took her hand to squeeze it reassuringly. August, who was next to us in the middle of the group, was completely unsurprised and at ease. The only other one like that was Finn. "Finn, your thoughts?"

"Tyranny," Finn answered with ease. He seemed more focused on keeping his horse calm, but I saw how his eyes darted about. "I saw villages in a similar state in Agustria, when Chagall ruled. Especially after the pirates started attacking."

"Well, that doesn't…" Mother winced suddenly and rested her hand on her temple. "Of all the times to be getting a headache."

"I told you that you were fretting too much." However, Finn frowned a little, with a strange mix of suspicion and knowing in his eyes. But he quickly returned to his stoic expression. "Based on the topography, and the days traveled, we're close to Manster, where Raydrik rules. Kelves in particular."

"You know your geography well," August chuckled, closing his eyes. I frowned, feeling like he was being patronizing. "We should see Fort Kelves in just a couple more hours, at most."

"Fort Kelves is one of the garrisons that helped protected Manster, and the Manster District, right?" Leif asked, falling back a bit to walk with August. Safy stepped a little closer to me to give them room, and I didn't mind since it was an excuse to get away. I just… he was so suspicious, damn it! "Many times, Leonster's knights warded off Thracia here?"

"That it correct. In fact, Thracia suffered a devastating blow here, shortly before the Yied Massacre." August briefly glanced at Finn before continuing. "I believe it was a newer knight who came up with the tactic. Lord Quan's former squire." He could've just said it was Finn. No one would be surprised. But the way Finn and Leif both locked up at the name just…

"Yes, yes, you're impressing us all with your vast knowledge of military history," I deadpanned, making sure my voice was as dry as possible. Orsin, up ahead with Halvan, automatically winced at the tone, since I normally saved it for when I was particularly annoyed. Which… ah… Orsin knew well. He's always been a scamp. "The point is that we're near Manster, meaning we're near Raydrik who is happily bleeding the land dry, right? That's why there's no one walking about."

"Partially, yes," August replied. He frowned at me, but I just looked at him drolly. Mother tried to catch my eye to rebuke me for being rude, but I ignored her. "It's more the Child Hunts that lead the people to fear this place more than hell itself."

"So, they are here as well," Safy murmured, looking down. I looked back over my shoulder where Marty and Ronan were keeping an eye on Lifis, and glared when I saw Lifis paying far too much attention to Safy's ass. "I do not understand why it is only children within a certain age range, though. Seven to thirteen, if I remember the victims in Tahra correctly."

"I imagine it has something to do with what they do with them."

"And what is it that they do?"

"...I only know rumors." August spoke slowly, and… perhaps it was my bias, but I swore he was speaking around something. "Some are sacrificed. Some are forced into the priesthood, particularly the Loptyrian. Others, gladiator matches and the army. A rare few become 'new nobles', to get 'fresh blood' into the nobility." He shrugged, as if unbothered. That one got him a glare from Dagda. "In all cases, all traces of their former lives are essentially erased, and the ones that survive are 'reborn' as proud members of the empire."

"How horrid…"

"Well, we're saving the children." Leif's tone brooked no argument, nor did his stern and fierce expression. "My apologies, August, since I know you're in a hurry, but we can't simply leave them," Leif continued softly. He then smiled slightly. "I mean; I think Eyvel might kill me."

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised," August murmured. He fell quiet, thinking a little, before nodding. "Then perhaps I shall see you in Manster."

"I wish you well." Leif kept up the smile even as August walked away. Lifis looked ready to yell, but a glare from Ronan made him fall silent. "Now then… let's get things started?"

Unlike August, the rest of the group was more than willing to save the children, so plans were drafted and preparations were made before long. While everyone handled all that, I walked over to where Leif was tending to his sword and poked his cheek. "Hey, I can lead the children back home, so that they get out of danger a little sooner," I volunteered. "You'll have to keep the soldiers from bothering us, but you'd have to deal with them anyway." And I still remembered the terror of being ripped away from your home and being trapped.

"And when you're not trying to tease people to death, you _are_ reassuring," Leif replied dryly, not even looking up from checking his blade. The light sword… I wondered if magical blades lasted longer than normal ones. That sword was older than me, yet it still looked new, sparkling in the sunshine. "Barely."

"Aw, little Leif is getting so mean!" I sniffed, pretending to be near tears. "I'm heartbroken!"

"Yeah, yeah, so if you'll handle walking the children to the nearest village?"

"Of course." I dropped the act to smile at him. "Leave them to me!"

I could only hope August hadn't led us into a trap or something. Ugh… I just did not like that man!

* * *

One thing I hadn't counted on with the whole 'focus on the children' thing was that I'd be stuck with Lifis, but apparently, he was determined to be on his best behavior since he didn't try to run nor did he make any uncouth comment towards me. Then again, even rats had some sense of self preservation and Orsin, who was with us as a guard, had no qualms glaring at Lifis whenever he seemed shifty. Which was often.

"Well, that seems to be all the brats," Lifis complained. I ignored him completely to hug a couple of the children, since they were crying. "So, I'm done for the-"

"You're done with Leif _says_ you are," Orsin cut in with a little growl. Lifis promptly glared, but didn't say anything. "Besides, the kids were saying there's two more prisoners. Older girls, further in." Must be village girls kidnapped to be raped...

"And?"

"Okay, that's it." Orsin snarled and swung his axe back. Lifis made to dodge, but paled when he quickly realized he had no place to move. "Safy and Leif aren't here to save you, but I know your damn crimes and-"

"And you can wait to kill him until I've gotten the children out of here," I retorted, lightly kicking his leg. The little girl I was holding was trembling so badly… "They've been through enough." I turned my attention to Lifis, and glared at him. "And you. You told Safy you'd help. I know why you did, because I know your ilk, but she believed you anyway. And Leif chose to believe _her_. Now, you can try to run or something, but our group is willing to give you a chance because of those two. I doubt the Imperials will give you that much."

"Even if you turn us in, they'll lose face letting a known criminal like you just walk away," Orsin added, still tensed. He did let his axe fall to his side, though. "Seems to me that we're your best option if you want to live. And if you don't want us to skewer you…"

"Orsin, seriously, save it for _after_ I get the children out of here. You're scaring them."

"Sorry…"

Before long, most of the children stopped shaking and crying long enough to actually leave, so I took charge of them while Orsin and Lifis went deeper into the fortress to see if they could find those older two. It was a bit difficult given how many there were, but we managed to sneak out without running into any soldiers. I did end up having to carry one of the girls, and I held the hand of a little boy. The rest of the children clung to each other as we walked down the path to the closest village, save for one. That child was… odd, but I couldn't quite place why, save that the other children didn't cling to him. His clothes were as simple as theirs, and he didn't look any better fed or anything. He was just… apart. He was apart, and he didn't mind, which seemed strange because the rest were so traumatized. But perhaps it was simply shock, so I simply kept an eye on him.

When we arrived at the village, the adults burst out of their houses to greet us. The children who were actually from the village tearfully reunited with their families, while the ones from further away were reassured they'd be home soon. No one came to greet the odd boy, and he didn't seem to mind. Instead, he wandered off and I followed him, worried. If he was in shock, then he could get himself hurt. I remembered how unreal things felt in the time immediately after Mother had saved me. I'd nearly walked into an open fire. So, I just wanted to make sure he'd be okay.

The boy, for his part, just continued walking until he made it to a rather nice house, with an ornamental flower garden set up next to it. He knocked on the front door without hesitation, and smiled when an old man opened it. "I'm back!" he chirped, bouncing a little. "Miss me?"

"Master Coirpre…!" the old man gasped, hugging the boy tightly. The boy, clearly Coirpre and clearly someone of some wealth, patted him on the back. "Thank goodness… I'm so sorry. You must've been terrified."

"No, I knew it would be fine." He twisted a bit in the hug and smiled at me, like he'd known I was there the whole time. "Thank you very much, miss! I thought it would take longer."

"You're welcome," I murmured, not quite sure what else to say. Seemed he really was just fine. I supposed he was adaptable or something? "You sure you weren't scared, though?"

"Well, being grabbed was scary, and sitting in the dark is creepy," Coirpre began, becoming thoughtful. I tried to place his age, and decided he was probably a bit older than the other children in this group. And maybe a bit older than he looked. "But I just… had a feeling things would be fine, and I've got a good intuition. Though maybe it was just faith in my family. Well, faith and knowing."

"Protective sorts?"

"Yeah, the 'throw a growling lynx' protective sorts!" He grinned, and I wondered what the hell he got into when he was younger. "Anyway, miss, would you…?" He trailed off suddenly, his eyes unfocusing briefly, and then he turned his attention down the path. "...Uh oh."

"Huh?" I turned, dread welling up in me, and I nearly froze when I caught the glint of armor near the village boundaries. Soldiers. Soldiers were here. But the others were supposed to… ah, I needed to…! "Hide, quickly! I'll-!"

"You're confronting them?" Coirpre snagged my sleeve, studying me with eyes that were suddenly too old for his face. "Running to protect… my first father did that. So did my mother, with my sister. I never saw them again." He continued studying me and, after a moment, he smiled. It was a painful, yet hopeful, smile. "But… I have a feeling you'll be okay. Try to head south, when you get free. I'd like to see you again."

"I hope to see you again too." I ruffled his hair, feeling a little bewildered. What did he mean by 'first father'? "My name is Eleri, by the way."

"Then until we meet again, Eleri."

Coirpre rushed inside the house with the old man, and I raced down the path, back towards the entrance. The entire village was panicking, desperately trying to hide as the soldiers marched up, weapons already out. But I was just fast enough to meet them near the gates, before they could confront any of the villagers or storm the houses. They glared at me, but I stood defiant, even as I hoped my skirt could hide how much my knees shook.

"You won't find them," I told them, speaking softly and clearly. I clenched my fists to hide their shaking. I was scared. I was so scared. But I… "I already gave the children to rebels who will take them far from here."

"That so?" the closest soldier drawled. He sneered at me before pointedly giving me a onceover. I felt my skin crawl, but I glared to hide my fear and disgust. "That's treason, miss."

"Is it 'treason' when you were never loyal in the first place? Raydrik is a fool, and you're even more of one to follow him."

"You…!" He slapped me. Hard. With a gauntleted hand. I tasted iron from the blood in my mouth, and felt more trickling down my cheek. "Bitch!"

"What a creative insult." I spat out the blood onto his shiny shoes and continued glaring at him, being defiant. "Regardless, you're too late. Children are gone. You'll have to find something else to hunt. Maybe mewling kittens? Seems like it would require the same amount of skill and balls." He hit me again, same cheek. I tasted more blood. "Or hitting weaponless girls."

"Bind this traitor up!" He gestured to the soldiers behind him and he smirked at me as they surrounded me. "We'll see how fiery you still are once you're in Raydrik's care." This time, I spat blood in his face, even as the soldiers seized my arms. "Should be interesting."

The soldiers bound me up quickly and efficiently with dirty, scratchy rope and then dragged me to two wagons, throwing me into one at random. To my surprise, I wasn't the only one in it. Leif and Mother were as well… as were Nanna and Mareeta. I was briefly startled by the latter two, but then remembered what Lifis had said. 'Two older girls'. It must've been them, and Raydrik must've been here. Pretty obvious what happened from there. Bastard used them as hostages. Gods damn it. Would've thought Raydrik was further north.

"Eleri, you're bleeding…!" Mother gasped. She tried to scoot over to me, but couldn't quite manage it because of how cramped we were, so she just looked at me worriedly. "What happened?"

"The children are safe," I replied, noticing that because of where I'd been thrown, I was actually next to Mareeta. She wouldn't look at me, though. "I yelled at the soldiers, so I was hit for disobedience." And now I was just nauseous. "Was anyone else caught? I saw two wagons."

"Lifis was, but he fought like a demon, so they have him heavily guarded in that second wagon." Mother continued looking worried, but sadness and guilt bled into it. Here I was, caught again. I figured it was more my fault than hers. "No one else, though. I surrendered with Leif."

"I see." I glanced over at Leif and Nanna, who were huddled together in the corner, both whispering apologies to each other. "Finn?"

"I insisted he hide. There's a good chance they'll wait to execute us, being an old woman and children. But him? They'd execute him instantly." She shook her head, eyes dark. So dark that none of us protested her being old, or pointed out that technically, legally, I wasn't a 'child'. "And he's probably our best chance we'll have to actually get out of Manster, especially once we're out of the castle. And besides..." She smiled slightly. "Someone has to keep all of our sentimental things safe. Who better than the one person with a horse?"

"Was he hurt?"

"Minor injury. Think he had Safy with him, so I'm sure he'll be fully healed before long." Her smile grew, becoming brave and reassuring, and she turned her attention to Leif and Nanna, bumping her leg against Leif's, since he was closest. "Hey, enough with the apologies. You're just arguing in circles anyway."

The wagon jerked then, signaling that we were moving even before we heard the creak of the wheels and the 'clop-clop' of the horses. Noticing that Mareeta was turned away, I managed to turn so that I was back-to-back with her, and after a couple of tries, I caught her hand to squeeze it reassuringly. She squeezed back automatically and, after a moment, she leaned against me. It wasn't quite as good as a hug, but it was the closest we could do.

"It's going to be okay," I whispered to her. Though she remained silent, I felt her nod. "I'm okay. You're okay. We'll make it through. Mother raised us to be stubborn."

"True," she mumbled. She squeezed my hand even more tightly. "Hey… uh…"

"Mother rescued me before anything happened. I'm serious. I'm fine. Worse is a little scar from the arrow."

"Oh, that's a relief…" She sighed and tilted her head back to briefly rest it on my shoulder. "I am going to enjoy seeing Raydrik eviscerated, by the way."

"Now that's a fancy word." I couldn't help but tease, and she giggled. "But I agree. That's why we'll make it through this. We have to see that."

"Too true."

We both stopped talking then, strangely content in simply listening to Mother, Leif, and Nanna talk about random plans and whatnot. Well, perhaps it wasn't so strange. We were captured, yes, but we were together. And Mother was here with us too. So, I knew things would be okay. Mother always kept us safe, after all.

* * *

_Finn, 35 years old_

_Considered by many to be one of Leonster's greatest knights even before the Yied Massacre and Leonster's Fall, he's also one of the very few survivors of Sigurd's army and both of these facts mean that folk tales are whispered about him in the Manster District. 'So long as Sir Finn is with Prince Leif, Leonster will be saved'. He does his best to ignore the reputation, as he feels that he doesn't deserve any of it._

_Though the long years of battle are beginning to wear on his body, he still fights like a demon, showing that the rumors of his skill are not all talk. His ability to survive even the most intense battles could be considered a miracle, especially when considering all the scars he has from near misses, but it is likely a sign of his skill, his stubbornness, and his desire to keep his promises._

_Father of Nanna and the closest thing to a father Leif has ever known, his greatest wish is that Leif and Nanna (and Eleri and Mareeta) can find some happiness in this mess of a world... and that Diarmuid, his son, is safe and happy wherever he is. His second-greatest wish is to meet Diarmuid, while his third is to reunite with his wife, Lachesis. He's fairly certain that only the first one has any chance of coming true, though._

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's notes: And now begins one of the most infamous parts of the game. Yeah, you beat the map and Raydrik shows up to use Nanna as a hostage to force Leif to surrender. Eyvel goes with him (and Lifis is apparently captured off-screen or something, since he appears in the next chapter too) and everyone else in the group scatters to the four winds. Mareeta doesn't show up at all in this chapter, but it made sense to me that if Raydrik was here with Nanna, Mareeta would be around as well. Coirpre is one of the FE4 chars who gets a cameo in this game, so I decided to give him a little more lines here, and I hinted that there were more than four children (as there is in game) because of the mention of 'gathered all the children' (though that could have also been a subtle show of how few children are left). The 'devastating blow' mentioned by August is a nod to a similar scene in the Oosawa manga.
> 
> Finn's personal skill in Fe4 and Fe5 is miracle/prayer (unlike FE4, FE5 didn't require a skill to double attack). In FE4, it triggers when the unit's HP gets below ten, and boosts avoid by (11-HP)*10 for a turn (so, if you get dropped to 1HP, your avoid is boosted by 100). In FE5, it triggers when the unit would suffer a fatal attack and has a (luck*3) chance of triggering; when it triggers, avoid is auto-boosted to 100%. Luck (like all non-HP stats in FE5) caps at 20 and Finn's brave lance boosts luck by ten. Meaning that at max luck, and wielding the brave lance, Finn has a 90% chance of avoiding a fatal blow… and that's _without_ factoring in his own personal evade, with is boosted from bonuses from supports (Leif and Nanna both support him, _and_ Nanna gives charisma bonuses) and leadership stars (which we'll get into later). Basically, so long as you train up Finn, he's kinda hard to kill unless you get unlucky. What a shame that lances (especially the personal lances like Finn's brave lance) are freaking useless during the final chapters thanks to how dismounting works in FE5.
> 
> That's actually a good lead-in since this is the chapter that introduces dismounting in game. Dismounting has only been used in FE3 and Fe5 (though there is a thing in FE4 where Seliph can dismount, but it can lead to a gamebreaking glitch and offers no benefits), and in those two games, it basically means that mounted units _cannot_ use their mounts during indoor maps. At all. And, in FE5, it means that the units are locked to swords (save for the bow knights, who can keep their bows)... when they can't use swords at all while mounted (save for cavaliers). While it did boost their experience gain (and technically reduce movement impediment through things like forests), it also decreased stats and movement in general. Oh, and most of the ones forced to switch had an E rank in swords, since FE5 was the first FE game to introduce the 'weapon ranks go from E-A/S and levels up via using weapons' thing, instead of having weapon levels fixed (as in Fe4) or having a shared weapon level for all weapons (as in FE3). So, in regards to lances, in FE5, you have only _two_ units capable of using lances indoors. One sucks and requires being promoted, one has what has to be one of the most convoluted recruitments in any fire emblem game, and both start with their lance rank at E. Axes aren't much better, but there's at least far more infantry who can use axes and one of them is Orsin with his broken Pugi and another is one of the two 'Gotoh' characters of the game. (Yes, FE5 gives you two 'Gotoh' archetype chars and the only other FE game that gives you two is Fe10 iirc? Well, FE10 probably technically gives you three, with one during Part 1 and the other two during Part 4. FE9 is similar with giving you three options, but you can only pick one of the three).
> 
> Anyway, dismounting sucks and while I'll include the whole 'leaving the horses behind' for some of these maps (where it makes sense), I'm not doing the 'locked to swords' part. (Iirc, Radiant Dawn is the only other FE game that has any sort of 'penalty' for using mounted units indoors, via reducing their movement, but don't quote me on that.)
> 
> Next Chapter - Wind (Game-Chapters 4 and 4x)


	4. Chapter 4) Wind

Chapter 4) Wind

* * *

_Well, we did make it to Manster. But it was as prisoners. All of us were thrown into the dungeons and left to rot there. I had no idea why Raydrik did that. Maybe he wanted to use us as bait to draw out other allies. Maybe he just wanted us to waste away. Break apart. For whatever reason, we were in the dungeons, and the days slowly crawled by. Mother and I kept track as best as we could, scratching markings on the wall. After the first thirty, we stopped counting, though we kept marking out of habit._

_Prisons sucks. I'd give just about anything for a breath of fresh air._

* * *

Things could be worse. I was well aware of that. But what I wouldn't give for clean clothes and a proper bath. Not to mention the uncomfortableness that came from having your period and being denied anything to really catch the blood. And how cold the place was. And how awful it smelled, though some of that smell was probably from us inmates. But I hid my discomfort as best as I could. Mother didn't need to worry about more things, and I was the eldest. I had to be strong for Mareeta, Nanna, and Leif. As much as I could, at least.

"Yeah, the mold in here is turning this rather pretty blue, and I almost want to find Nanna a dress in the color, but then again it's freaking _mold_!" Mareeta sighed. The cell she and Nanna were in was next to the one Mother and I were in, so every day, we sat in the corner between the bars and the adjoining wall to converse. "Still, it is pretty."

"I don't want to wear mold blue, thank you very much," Nanna complained. It was easy to imagine her expression. A dainty looking grimace. "I'm honestly not sure I want to wear anything green or blue again for a long while. Or black. That mildew in the corner…"

"Any cool colors with you and Mother, Eleri?"

"Sadly, no," I replied, biting back a giggle. We fell quiet when the guards passed by, and then I stuck my hand through the bars and twisted my arm a little awkwardly. It was worth it when Mareeta immediately seized my hand and squeezed it. Her nails were chipped and coated in grime, and her hands bore tiny scrapes. Mine weren't much better, and my shoulders and arms ached from the angle. But I wouldn't give up that simple touch for anything. "Well, unless you like grey. I think the moss in here is grey."

"Depends on the shade," Mareeta mused. She let go of my hand, but before I could be sad, Nanna reached out to take it instead. They must've switched places, and I saw her hands were even more damaged than Mareeta's. Not a surprise. She'd frequently tried to use her Hezul-blessed strength to get out, but the lack of food for all of us made it difficult for her. I didn't want to think about how much weight we all had lost. "And what you pair it with."

"Well, think of some colors. When we get out of here, I'm making us new clothes." I squeezed Nanna's hand reassuringly, and she squeezed back. Then I frowned because I noticed something. "Nanna, you're bleeding. Actively bleeding."

"She almost ripped her nail off yesterday."

"Nanna…!"

"It's fine," Nanna reassured. She tried to sound chipper, but I heard the tiredness and pain in it. "I'm of Holy Blood. I can take more injury."

"That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt," I whispered. Worse, though, was that there was nothing we could do. There was nothing to bind it with save our filthy clothes. Which would be so much worse. "Mother is going to scold you so much."

"How is Eyvel doing?"

"She's napping." I looked over to where Mother was curled up asleep in the far back corner. She did her best to stay awake for as long as she could, just in case soldiers came to grab one of us, but it was getting harder and harder for her to do so. We were slowly being worn down to nothing… "But I'm going to tell her."

"Can I bribe you not to?" Nanna giggled, though. "Ah, I'm glad they didn't take my necklace. It's so comforting to fiddle with."

"The one Finn gave you?"

"Yes." It was easy to imagine her smiling. "I'm sure… it's keeping us safe. That's what it's supposed to do, you know."

"Nanna, we got caught," Mareeta deadpanned. She wasn't that inclined to believe in protection charms, though she acknowledged that pretty weird things happened due to sheer dumb luck. "And we've been imprisoned for gods' know how long.

"And no one is dead, yet, and no one has been raped, yet," Nanna pointed out cheerfully. Her hand tightened on mine, though. " _And_ no one has been beaten. Yet."

"Well, I _guess_ that's true." But an uneasy silence fell because of the weight of that one word. 'Yet'. None of that had happened _yet_. "So… uh…"

Thankfully for our sanity, a little bit of arguing filtered down the hall, and the three of us immediately giggled before I crawled over to the other side of the cell to ask Leif about it, since his cell was also next to the one Mother and I were in. Leif had originally been imprisoned alone, but a few weeks ago, they threw two more in his cell, and things had been much livelier thanks to their arguments. And, of course, we were always far too curious about said arguments. They provided desperately needed entertainment.

"They started early this time," I joked, leaning in the corner between the wall and bars and sticking my arm through the bars. Leif immediately took my hand, his hands as battered as Nanna's. Though at last he wasn't bleeding. "What's it about this time?"

"About how they ended up in here," Leif answered. Leif's voice shook, like he was laughing. I hoped he was. He spent a lot of time brooding, feeling guilty about all of this. He even felt bad about Lifis, who was apparently in the cell on the other side of his. I didn't really care. Lifis could rot. "Basically, Karin was stopping the soldiers from beating up a man, the soldiers tried to assault her, Fergus nearly punched one of them to death, and now they're here with me."

"That sounds like a whirlwind of events!" I did my best to remember what little I knew about Leif's cellmates. Fergus was a traveling mercenary, while Karin was a pegasus knight from Silesse. "So, what's the argument exactly?"

"Who's fault it is. And how Fergus is trying to take a nap to get out of the 'discussion'."

"I suppose he has his priorities in order?" I giggled and I noticed Mother sit up, yawning and rubbing her eyes and head. I made sure to smile when she looked at me, and she smiled back. "Maybe tease them that they woke up Mother?"

"Now that sounds like…" Leif trailed off, and he briefly squeezed my hand before letting go and withdrawing. "Someone's coming. Not a guard."

"Oh lovely." I moved towards the back corner, in the hopes that the shadows would hide me. Because someone unexpected coming? That didn't mean good things. In fact, it probably meant-

"Well, well… how are you all this fine day?" The mocking voice could've been some semblance of polite if not for the smugness, but it was also Raydrik, who clearly got a hard on for being in some position of superiority. "Looks like you're doing fine," he continued, chuckling. He gestured to the soldiers behind him and they unlocked Mareeta and Nanna's cell. "Now then… you two are needed."

"Like hell…!" Mareeta snapped. She kicked and struggled as the soldiers dragged her and Nanna out of the cell. Nanna attempted to do the same, but the soldiers apparently remembered the trouble she gave them last time (or had been informed) and she was swarmed. "Bastard!"

"Quite the mouth you got." Raydrik snapped his fingers and one soldier punched Mareeta in the face, hard enough to split her lip. Another soldier came over to the cell Mother and I were in and unlocked it. "You, swordswoman, shall accompany us as well. I'm sure the girls will be reassured by your presence."

"...Is that so?" Mother asked softly. She studied him warily before sighing and standing up. She looked so much smaller than usual, but the glare she leveled at Raydrik was fierce and defiant. And enough to make Raydrik step back. "You lay a hand on them, and I will ensure you know nothing but regret and fear during your last breaths."

"Of course, of course," Raydrik 'reassured'. He smiled, but it was far too smug to really be called a 'smile'. "You have my word that I won't do anything to the two." He gestured for his soldiers to grab Mother's arms and he waited until she was firmly within the group of soldiers before turning his attention to me. "And there's the girl who threw that pot in my face. Not quite as pretty now, but you'll clean up nicely." He snapped his fingers again, and a soldier yanked me to my feet. I could already hear Mareeta screaming, but fear made everything focus on the painful grip on my arm. "See to it that she's clean, and into fresh clothing. Got a few soldiers who deserve a good reward."

"DON'T YOU DARE!" That was Mother, and I knew she was struggling against the soldiers. I also knew that she wouldn't break free. "Leave my daughter alone, you bastard!"

"Oh, I intend to. With those soldiers." Raydrik chuckled and the soldiers began pulling me down the hall, a different direction than where Mareeta, Nanna, and Mother were. "Well, no reason to tarry here now. The Leonster brat is still too defiant to put on display or anything, based on the glare." I wasn't surprised Leif was glaring. I wished I had the strength to push past the fear to smile reassuringly at him. At Mareeta. At Nanna. At Mother. Really, I wished I had the strength to do anything but be dragged along. "I want him broken. Wonder if this will speed things up." And Raydrik laughed, the raucous sound bouncing off the walls. "Now then, let's-"

A growl. There was a growl very close by, the growl of an animal. Then something tore the soldier's arm and blood spilled onto me. The soldier screamed and threw me backwards and I hit the bars of a cell hard enough for it to clang. My back ached and my head throbbed, but I looked up to try and see what the hell just happened. And then my breath caught because there, right in front of me, was a very, _very_ large canine with night-black fur and sharp gold eyes. At first, I thought it a dog, but when I saw the face, I knew this was a wolf. _A wolf_. And it was growling (snarling, really) at the soldier that had held me. And physically blocked the other soldiers when they tried to step towards me.

"What the hell is a mangy mutt doing here?!" Raydrik roared. The wolf (seriously, why was a wolf here?) snapped at him and stepped to further protect me. Distantly, I was aware of Leif taking my hand, but I was in far too much shock. "Kill the thing! I want it's head mounted on the wall!"

"Um… L-Lord Raydrik?" one soldier began. They were apart from the others, tending to the shredded arm of the soldier that had held me. "That's a wolf."

"I don't care what it is! Kill it!"

"W-well, there are rumors, sir, that… um…" The soldier wilted at Raydrik's glare. "Sir, please, I am… I am simply t-trying to… uh… remind you that… um…"

"Hekate, why did you come down here? It's hideous." A new voice, strangely calm and gentle echoed down, accompanied by footsteps. Before long, the owner of that voice appeared from the western hall, and he was an odd sight. His long red hair was tied back in a ponytail, and his eyes (two colors, red and blue) burned with a quiet yet fierce fire. He was dressed in clothing I recognized as Thracian, and strangely, he wore two separate earrings: a stud in one and a ruby drop in the other. "Well, this looks interesting," he continued dryly, raising an eyebrow. The soldiers, and Raydrik, blanched at the sight. "What's going on here?"

"N-nothing, your highness," Raydrik immediately replied, tripping over his words. He tried to move to block us from sight, but the wolf growled again, warning him to keep still. "Just moving some prisoners."

"Raydrik, if you're going to be a coward, you need to learn how to be a better liar." The boy, who looked to be about Leif's age, scoffed. "Hekate wouldn't be acting like this if that's really all it was. And I see blood on her muzzle, and I _know_ she wouldn't do that under normal circumstances."

"I… well…"

"Hey, did you find… oh, gods, what the heck did we walk into?" A girl appeared from the shadows of the hall then, this one dressed in clothes fancier than the boy's. Everything about her invoked a storms, from the long silver-purple hair to the matching eyes that sparked with intelligence. Eyes that were narrowed suspiciously. "Well, well… this doesn't look good, especially given your… _reputation_ , Raydrik," she growled, a little bit of lightning crackling at her fingertips. "Such dark rumors surround you, you know."

"I assure you that this is just a misunderstanding…" Raydrik insisted. He was pale, and I thought he was shaking. Of course, given the _freaking wolf_ , I couldn't blame him. For once. "I am… we are just moving the prisoners to a different part of the dungeons. They're rebels, you see."

"Are we sure they should be imprisoned? I think they deserve medals of honor for trying to save the city." There was more lightning in her hand, but it calmed when the boy took the other hand. "So, perhaps you'd like to give us another lie? I'd love actual evidence against you."

"I…" Raydrik cleared his throat and visibly regained his smug calm. "My lady, forgive me, but I _am_ entrusted with the city, by the blessing of your father, Duke Bloom. And by the blessing of Emperor Arvis."

"Once again, Arvis reminds me that for an intelligent man, he can be stupid as hell," the boy deadpanned. I wondered why the boy didn't use a title _for the freaking emperor_. "But I guess you're better for now. Ish. You're at least an idiot."

"Your highness, such rudeness doesn't suit your rank," Raydrik replied, his voice now becoming almost oily with false politeness. He held himself tall, like he had his footing again. He was quick to flinch when the wolf growled yet again, though. "Nor do threats."

"My rank is an accident of birth forced on me because I got kidnapped." The boy's voice was very dry and the girl facepalmed. With the lightning still in her hand. Apparently, it didn't hurt her at all. "Yours is due to betrayal. So, I think we both know whose word would be given more weight if it came to you versus me."

"I… well..."

"Hey, did you two find Hekate?" And another boy showed up, with long red hair like the first one. But this boy had dark red eyes, and there was something unsettling about him. Especially his smile. Like he'd smile at anything from a butterfly fluttering about to a puppy being strangled, though I couldn't place why I felt that way. "Oh, there's Raydrik," the boy noted. Without hesitation, he jumped up on the first boy's back, and the first boy caught him easily. "We were looking for you. You're late and you're the one who invited us here. Very rude."

"M-my apologies, Prince Julius," Raydrik stammered. My jaw dropped at the name, because even those out in the middle of nowhere knew Prince Julius. He was the heir to the Empire. "I was just…"

"Wasting our time. You're lucky Manfroy needed to talk to Veld about something." Prince Julius pointed to me. "Put her in the cell behind her there and come on up. I'm bored, and you shouldn't rape girls. Ishtar and Conall don't like it, and Hekate _really_ doesn't like it." I'd think anyone with morals didn't like it!

"Of course, your highness!" Raydrik snapped his fingers and before I could blink, a soldier dragged me up, unlocked Leif's cell, and threw me in. Leif caught me before I hit the ground and hurt myself. Again. "Ah, but these three are involved in that surprise I mentioned, so…"

"It better be good. If Conall and Ishtar don't like it, I'm going to rip your fingers off." Prince Julius smiled so sweetly despite the threat, and hugged the first boy, resting his chin on his shoulder. Must be 'Conall', and the girl must be 'Ishtar', then. "Conall, you're tense. Are you okay?"

"Not comfortable leaving the four in his 'care'," Lord Conall answered with a little growl. He shifted Prince Julius a little higher up on his back to better hold him. "Not at all."

"Well, he'll come with us and we'll keep a close eye on him," Prince Julius reassured. He continued smiling sweetly. "And we'll set up guards on him for when we leave. They'll be instructed to kill him if he does something you two don't like."

"But who would reinforce that?" Lady Ishtar asked, crossing her arms. She glared at Raydrik, who was turning a fascinating shade of gray. "Veld? He's not trustworthy."

"You and Conall can pick," Prince Julius answered. He frowned a little, though. "We'll make sure Raydrik treats prisoners properly too. Everything is dirty and cold, and no one looks like they've gotten even fresh water, much less a good meal. That's not right."

"Then Veld is _definitely_ not going to be the one."

"That reminds me. You and Conall were explaining why you didn't like Veld."

"Ah, yes! We got interrupted because Hekate decided to wander. Glad she did, but..."

"We can answer that on the way up," Lord Conall suggested. He nodded at Raydrik. "Hekate, keep close to him for now. I'm sure he'll be coming with us, right? Ishtar, I'm going to need to borrow a handkerchief to clean her muzzle when we're up."

The trio of kids disappeared down the hall, followed by a terrified Raydrik being escorted by the snarling wolf. The other soldiers, after a moment, dragged Mareeta, Nanna, and Mother down the eastern hall. All I could do was stare, shock closing my ears as everything finally processed, and lean into Leif as he hugged me tightly.

Maybe there was something to Nanna's protective charm after all?

* * *

In the next few hours, lots of changes suddenly happened. Fresh clothes and blankets were sent down, on orders of Prince Julius, and rags for periods were provided. Warm food and basins filled with water came down next, also on Prince Julius's orders. It wasn't quite enough to feel 'normal', but it was enough to change the entire situation to bearable. Save for the fact that Mother, Mareeta, and Nanna were somewhere else and we all knew that we were going to pay for this goodwill as soon as Prince Julius left. But it was still nice to know that despite his father letting the psychos and sociopaths run wild in the wake of his wife's death, Prince Julius was still kind. Even if he was a bit unsettling.

"So, you're the girl the little prince here would talk with," Fergus noted. His looks were typical of the Manster District, and I noticed he purposely ate less of the food so that Leif, Karin, and I could have it instead. "Nice to finally get a face to the name, Eleri."

"It's nice to properly meet you as well," I replied in between my eating. It was simple fare, but after so long without proper food, it was the best thing ever. "I assure you that I normally look a little better, though." We had used the basins for cursory washes, and had all changed into the new clothes, but it would take a few _weeks_ to look healthy again. At minimum.

"At which point, I think I'll have to demand my heart back due to it being stolen by such beauty!" Fergus winked, and I couldn't help but snicker. Karin, sitting next to me in the back, glared at him, though. "What did I do?"

"Just not sure jokes like that should be said, considering…" Karin mumbled. Her features were more delicate than I was used to seeing, almost as dainty as snow, and her hair was as short as Tanya's. Her smile was kind, though. "Ah, never mind. This whole thing has been an experience to be sure."

"Are things not this bad in Silesse?" Leif asked. He finished his plate and set it down before draping a blanket around him and me. "I vaguely remember hearing it fell after Leonster."

"It did, but given the weather and us knowing _way_ more about how to survive, the Empire actually doesn't have much of a grip. They are trying to starve us out, though." Karin made a face. "Would be _just fine_ if our king hadn't gone wandering about like a darn minstrel." She took one last bite of her food before setting down the plate. I… uh… kept on eating. I was hungry! "I don't get why he left. He was always so kind."

"You knew him well, then? As a knight?"

"He raised me, actually. Most of the orphaned kids were raised by King Lewyn and Queen Erinys." She smiled sweetly, clearly enjoying the happy memories. "Never felt bad about not having parents. They raised all of us with as much love as they did their own children. Which makes it all the weirder, you know?" She sighed and abruptly shook her head. "Nope! Going to be cheerful. So!" She pointed dramatically at Fergus, who blinked slowly in confusion. "The trio that saved Eleri. Who were they? I vaguely know Prince Julius, because who doesn't know the crown prince of the Empire, but I've got no clue about the other two."

"Well, the one with heterochromia was Prince Conall, Emperor Arvis's nephew," Fergus rattled off with ease. He leaned against the wall and glanced up at the ceiling. "Not a lot of rumors travel about him, especially in lands past the Yied Desert since that place gobbles up people and gossip like a child with sweets. However, him having a pet wolf has been making rounds. Probably that wolf that was here, and what the soldier was trying to remind Raydrik about."

"And the girl?" Karin asked, tucking her legs under her. "Who was she?"

" _That_ was Lady Ishtar, daughter and heir to our 'glorious' King Bloom." He shrugged. "You will hear a lot of rumors about her, since she spends a good half the year in Alster. Surprisingly kind, given her parents, with a strong sense of right and wrong. Powerful mage already, and that's not even going into how she's the Thrud Major." That explained the lightning, then. Even I knew Thrud was associated with thunder magic. "Rumors also mention that she and Prince Julius recently started courting, but if so, it would be unofficial for now. Neither are 'of age' yet."

"Really?"

"Well, actually, it depends on whatever the month is, but Prince Conall and Lady Ishtar are either fifteen or sixteen, depending. Prince Julius is a year younger."

"So, they can't be official until some time next year, then, huh?" Karin hummed a bit, before nodding. "Okay, that makes sense. Thanks."

"No problem. Any other questions?"

"Who were the Manfroy and Veld mentioned?" Leif asked quietly. He rested his head on my shoulder, and I took his hand. "I don't know either."

"Manfroy is the Archbishop of the Loptyrians, meaning he's the one who leads and coordinates all of them. And the Child Hunts," Fergus answered. His voice was very dry though, and I thought I heard a little anger threading through the words. "Veld is a bishop, the leader of the Loptyrians within the Manster District. Sadly, that's all I know about either. Loptyrians keep their secrets, probably left over from when they were persecuted."

"They were persecuted?"

"That's what I've heard. Never seen it myself, and I've seen quite a few messed up things over the years." Again, Fergus tried to pretend to be nonchalant, but I had a feeling that some of those 'messed up things' were done _by_ the Loptyrians. "Anyway, if that's all the questions, I think I'm going to take a nap."

"You're ridiculous," Karin drawled. Leif and I could only snicker, while Fergus rolled his eyes and, for all intents and purposes, settled in the corner to sleep. "Don't know how you can sleep in a place like…" She trailed off, cocking her head to the side. "Are those footsteps? I think I hear footsteps?"

"Really now?" Fergus asked, opening his eyes again. He sighed and moved closer to the bars. "Soldiers to claim Eleri again now that the nobles are busy?"

"I don't know. They're quieter."

"Oh?" Now Fergus peered up and down the hall, frowning a bit. But after a moment, he smiled. "Well, well… looks like we've got someone picking locks. Wonder if she's from the Magi."

"The Magi?" Karin crawled over to the bars as well to look herself. "What are the Magi?"

"Resistance group here in Manster. Raydrik and Veld massacred them about a year ago, but about five months later, they returned even stronger than ever. Got a new leader from my understanding, and he's a born leader and a fierce fighter." Fergus waved at whoever was picking locks and moved away from the bars. "This just got interesting."

"Magi is a weird word." Karin also waved, though, and sat back on her heels. "Where did it come from?"

"Magi is the name of the group that formed the core of Saint Maera's rebellion," Leif rattled off almost absently. His eyes were a little distant as he remembered. "Lachesis taught me that, at least. Many of that group escaped to Manster when the rebellion failed and Saint Maera had to flee. They founded the resistance groups here, saving children from the Hunts and undermining the Empire's power here in the Manster District. That is, until the Crusaders came to unite the groups."

"Well, that's subtle," I deadpanned. I could only wonder who would serve as the 'Crusaders' in this scenario. "Very subtle. As subtle as Tanya's feelings for Orsin."

"...Tanya has feelings for Orsin?"

"Wow, Leif. Wow."

I continued quietly teasing Leif while Karin and Fergus relaxed, smiling at Leif's sputtered protests. Eventually, though, a young girl wearing red and yellow tiptoed to our cell and winked at us before miming for quiet. She pulled a lockpick from the pouch on her belt, and in a matter of seconds, she had the door open. "Follow me," she whispered, pointing down the hall. Fergus and Leif did so without hesitation, while Karin and I gathered up the blankets before doing the same. "Everyone looks better than I expected, given previous rescues. Has Raydrik actually gained a conscience? Somehow?"

She didn't actually wait for an answer or anything. She just skipped down the hall, leading us somewhere. And, of course, that was when a guard decided to appear, stepping around the corner. Since we had no time to hide, they saw us immediately and opened their mouth to shout a warning. But before they could even squeak out a sound, Leif lunged forward and slammed his fist into their face. Then throat. Then right under the chin. On the third, there was a sickening 'crack' and it took a moment to realize Leif had snapped their neck.

"Amazing how a meal gives you energy," Leif murmured, rotating his wrist. He smiled when he noticed the rest of us staring. Baldr and Njorun both bless me with strength. Granted, I'm not as strong as Nanna, but the Hezul blood means few are."

"...Wait, Baldr and Njorun?" the Magi-girl repeated, blinking slowly. After a moment, she gasped. "You're Prince Leif?! Wow, we thought you'd be in a more secure area, like the children! Raydrik is an idiot, but his idiocy and arrogance is our luck!" She beamed, bouncing on her toes. "Okay, to Brighton and Machyua. They'll need to know that we're completing two objectives!"

The girl, who never gave her name, went back to leading the way down the corridor, and we followed her, with Fergus pausing just long enough to drag the guard's body back into our cell. Before too long, we came upon two people, a man and woman, hiding in an alcove, quietly talking about something. Both were armed, but the woman appeared worried, frowning and shifting her weight, while the man seemed to be doing his best to reassure her, even taking her hand to kiss it. Leif and I automatically looked away at the display of affection, but the other three didn't seem to mind. In fact, the girl skipped right on up to them and poked their faces, as if such a thing was normal.

"Lara, you shouldn't go too far ahead!" the woman immediately scolded, resting a hand on the girl's shoulder. The girl simply smiled up at her. "Brighton and I can't protect you if you're not near."

"Lara's a skilled enough thief to swipe their weapons out of their hand, Machyua," the man chided, squeezing her hand before letting go. He then patted the girl on the back. "She's not helpless."

"No, but she can't grab them if they're too heavy. She's fast, not strong."

"I suppose…"

"I do appreciate the faith, Brighton, but I'm with Machyua on that," the girl (Lara, was it?) replied, clasping her hands behind her back and giggling. The woman (Machyua… that was the name of the hero in Mareeta's favorite story) smiled smugly, while the man (must be Brighton) rolled his eyes. "I'm strong for my size, sure, but I'm tiny! You can carry me easily!"

"Now that _is_ true," Brighton conceded, patting her on the back again. Lara beamed and briefly leaned into him, so he hugged her instead. "All done with this section?"

"I am, but look!" With a twirl and a flourish, Lara gestured dramatically to us. Or, more accurately, Leif. "Raydrik left Prince Leif with the normal cells."

"That's… huh." Brighton blinked slowly before smiling. "Well, his stupidity is our fortune. Our apologies for taking so long."

"It's fine," Leif reassured. He hesitated a bit before continuing. "I don't suppose you had Finn's help, did you?"

"If we did, I'm sure we would have gotten here much sooner, but Raydrik has had Manster completely locked down since your arrival, Prince Leif," Brighton explained. Leif tried to not sigh and I bumped my shoulder against his, understanding. Seeing Finn right now would've been great. "There _have_ been mentions of knights mysteriously going missing, though, so I'm sure he's doing what he can."

"Of course he is. He always does."

"We can talk another time, because if I recall correctly, we've got people to get out and there's guards," Fergus pointed out, glancing behind him. No one was there, yet, but… "If I remember the layout of the place, the northern stairs will be a bit of a roundabout, but less guarded, way to get out?" Fergus patted Leif on the head. "How about you go on ahead, and we'll buy you time?"

"If we do it like that, then some of you will be captured," Leif replied with a surprisingly dull voice, and there was old pain in his eyes. Such things had happened before. "And be killed. That always happens."

"That's fine by me."

" _Not_ by me." Leif shook his head roughly. "I'm tired of me leaving and people being captured or worse! Time and time again, people have given up everything for me! When is it… when do I repay the favor?!"

"You repay it by surviving, retaking Leonster, and ruling well. That's the job of nobles, particularly princes." Despite how serious the words were, Fergus chuckled. "Still, you're very interesting, little prince. Think I'll try to tag along a little bit. See what you do. Not like I can ditch you after all you've been through anyway."

"Wow, I guess everyone has their fine points," Karin deadpanned. With the words, the tense air lightened. "I'm impressed."

"Really?" Fergus asked, grinning suddenly. "Attracted now?"

"No way." Still, I thought I saw a little blush on her face, but that could've just been from embarrassment at the subject change. "Whatever. Here, I'll assist as well."

"Can you fight?" Fergus raised a brow. "Really?"

"Don't underestimate a pegasus knight of Silesse!" Karin brought her fists up, and put on a fierce expression. "I'll do my best!"

"I… think those two sentences should be reversed, but that's just me. If you say the second sentence at all." Fergus sighed, but smiled. "Whatever. Guess we're all tagging along together. Aren't there civilians or something?"

"Yeah, there is, and I've been dealing with guards." To my surprise, Lifis actually appeared from the shadows, and he waved sarcastically when he saw Leif and me. "Hi, nice to see you're not dead," he continued dryly. "But seriously, people? That you insist on saving? Need to get to?"

"Thank you for scouting for us, Lifis," Machyua murmured, smiling at him. Lifis just rolled his eyes. "But yes, we should head to them quickly. We'll take them along to the northern stairs as well. I believe that'll get us to the cells where the children are anyway."

"Then we better get going." However, while the others ran off, Lifis didn't. He, instead, stayed where he was, looking at us. Clearly waiting for something.

"Hello, Lifis," Leif finally whispered. I bit my tongue, refusing to say anything. Even angry words. "I'm… actually, I'm surprised you didn't run."

"Run _where_ princey?" Lifis asked dryly. He even rolled his eyes and scowled. "Much as I hate to admit it, you really are my best bet for surviving."

"Well, so long as you behave…"

"I'm not sure 'rebelling' falls under that, but whatever." He sighed gustily. "Man, why do I have the worst luck?"

"Well, you're still alive? Didn't you have some people in the cell with you?"

"They got themselves gutted." Now Lifis walked ahead, gesturing at us. "Come on. We're stuck with each other, and damn if I'm going to die in this shithole. I expect rewards for good behavior!"

"Like keeping your life?" I deadpanned. Leif quickly muffled a snort. Lifis simply made a rude gesture at me. "Ugh…"

Reluctantly (in my case), Leif and I did follow Lifis, arriving at another batch of cells just as the others were helping them out. There were tears and praise, and I just sort of… meandered through, throwing blankets around some and reassuring others. Some were my age. Some were very, very old. There were babies bawling. There were a few pregnant women. All of them looked as ragged as we did and the way some of them flinched away from people made me worry that while _I_ had escaped the worst of being imprisoned… others had not been so lucky.

"Ah, Eleri, there you are." After a moment, Fergus clapped me on the shoulder. For some reason, he was carrying a sword. "Lots of guards have been dealt with, so we're taking their weapons," he explained, unintentionally answering my question. I looked around and saw he was right. Leif was checking the weight of a few swords, giving the lighter ones to Lifis for his own use, and Karin was practicing with a lance. Brighton, Machyua, and Lara had their own weapons, of course: axe and swords. "I'll help you. What weapon do you wield?"

"I… er… don't?" I squeaked, guilt flooding me. I should've started lessons as soon as possible, clearly. "So… um…"

"In that case, here." Fergus produced a dagger from his boot and passed it to me. I wondered how the hell he _snuck a weapon in here_. "Nice and light, easy to hide. There's a proper thing to it, but you're less likely to break a wrist with it if you don't." He hesitated a bit. "And, well… if Raydrik catches you, this is a lot easier to…"

"Kill myself?"

"Nah, I was going to say 'shove it in his balls', but I'm not sure he has any." He grinned and it startled a laugh out of me. "Turn it on you only after you've tried to stab him a few times, okay? He deserves a knife messing up his insides more than you."

Having no real reply, and not wanting to admit that my experience with knives and daggers was limited to cooking, I simply smiled and went back to helping the civilians. Before long, we were all heading to the northern stairs. I kept near the back, helping stragglers where I could and hoping I could keep out of the way if things turned into a fight. As a result, I nearly ended up walking straight into Karin's back because everyone had stopped suddenly. When I got on the tips of my toes to see why, I had to sigh because we ran into a guard. A heavily armored guard at that, but they didn't attack. Instead, they motioned for us to duck down another hall and, not really knowing what else to do and hearing more guards approach, we did. I pushed some of the younger civilians behind me and gripped the dagger tightly, wondering if I'd actually have to use it.

The answer ended up being 'no'. After a few breathless seconds of watching guards pass us by, the guard who helped us took off their helmet and bowed. "There won't be another group for a minute, so now is the time," they whispered, smiling. It was surprisingly kind. "My name is Dalshin, Prince Leif. My little brother was one of the children you saved back at Kelves. I've been waiting for the Magi to come, so that I could assist."

"Thank you!" Leif replied, smiling brightly. I studied the guard's face and decided that they did resemble one of the children. Maybe. I hadn't paid that much attention. I hadn't thought it important. "Let's go, then!"

Despite the words, Leif lingered a bit, letting everyone else pass him by. I stayed next to him and held out my hand silently. He took it and smiled wanly and we chased after the others, letting the shadows hide us.

Well, we just got ridiculously lucky. I could only hope Mother, Mareeta, and Nanna shared that luck.

* * *

The stairs led to a landing that split between a hall and another set of stairs. We went down the hall, because the next part of this rescue-escape was reaching the children. While protecting the civilians we'd already rescued. While everything was pitch-black because apparently, no one in this part of the dungeons knew a thing about torches. Made it incredibly fun when we literally ran straight into more guards, hiding in the dark. Why were they standing around without light? Hell if I knew! Even worse was that we got separated in the mess!

"This is just the worst," I muttered, carefully creeping along the edges of the room. At last, I assumed that's what I was doing since I had my back to a wall. Couldn't see a damn thing, and all I could hear was just screaming and incoherent shouting. "Ugh…"

Sighing, I ran a hand through my matted, tangled hair and continued making my way around the wall, keeping Fergus's dagger in hand. A good thing too, since I came upon a guard hiding in the shadows. Well, maybe it wasn't a good thing. Because the person had been looking away, not really a threat, and instead of sneaking around or something I just… stabbed them. I didn't hesitate. I didn't even think about it. I just stabbed them in the neck with the same amount of interest as I'd 'stab' baking bread to see if it was done. Reacted to the blade grinding against their spine with the same bit of minor exasperation I had when cutting meat off a bone. Ignored the blood that spilled over me just as I ignored the flour that would get everywhere when Mareeta and I baked. Left the body to twitch and die on the stone-cold floor like how I'd throw dirty laundry in a corner to ignore until the morning. Moved on like I'd just finished a chore, and was ready to move onto the next.

I killed someone. I _killed_ someone. I remembered Mother giving talks to Orsin, Halvan, Leif, and Mareeta about how unsettling the first kills likely would be. I remembered Finn giving similar warnings. I should be unsettled. I should be sick. I wasn't trained. I never expected to fight. But I wasn't. I was fine. I was more annoyed with how the blood made my clothes sticky and how I might've damaged the blade. Was I just in shock or something? Was there something wrong with me? I didn't know. All I did know was that I didn't like it, even if I knew that right now was definitely not the time to be panicking or be sick. It scared me. Not even finding Leif finishing up his own fight made it go away.

"Eleri, there you are!" Leif smiled in relief as the last body fell, but it faltered when he saw the blood on me. "Are you okay?" he whispered, touching my cheek. "You're clammy."

"I'll be fine once we get everyone into sunshine," I joked. Clammy… maybe I was more affected than I thought? But I… I felt fine. Sort of. I mean; this was all more exercise than I'd want, particularly after so long of minimal meals. But… "More seriously, we're doing a lot of running and it's stupidly cold."

"True." He sighed and looked around. "I got separated from the others, but I do know the direction they went, so let's hold hands and-"

"Lord Leif!" A boy rushed out of the shadows then, with a smile almost bright enough to light up the area. "Lord Leif, I finally found you!" he laughed, beaming. Leif's jaw dropped when he saw him. "Er… you do recognize me, right? Puberty didn't change me that much. I think."

"No, you're still tiny, Asbel," Leif immediately replied. He then smiled brightly. "But hey, how are you… wait, hold on, you were in Tahra."

"Yes, I went after you all as soon as you left, though I lost you." He shrugged. "I was taken in by a merchant, but Raydrik killed him… it's been six months now. Brighton saved me, and I've been helping the Magi group since."

"I'm sorry you had to… wait, _as soon as we left_?" Leif was back to being shocked. "That was three years ago!"

"Yep, and I've been training hard." Asbel smiled kindly. "After all, we made a vow. We'd help each other retake Leonster, even if it cost us our lives. That was no empty vow for me. It's my choice." He grinned suddenly. "Besides, I have this!" He proudly held up a green book. "This is Grafcalibur. It's a tome my mentor helped me make. We did it by studying his tome. So, I know I can be helpful. Let me."

"Asbel…" Leif sighed, smiling a bit. I frowned, though, because based on ages… Asbel had to be the same age as Leif, meaning they made that vow when, at the oldest, they were twelve. Twelve year olds shouldn't make vows like that. "For the record, there was no time. With the imperial soldiers surrounding Tahra, Finn and Lachesis had to get us out as soon as possible. You had some relative safety."

"Speaking of them, where are they? And where's Nanna?" He looked around curiously and his eyes fell on me. "Oh, hello miss!"

"Oh, right, Asbel, this is Eleri." Leif gestured to me, and I waved. "We lived with her family after we left Tahra."

"And eventually, this little brat stopped being all glarey-glarey," I teased, ruffling Leif's hair. He immediately made a face. Asbel laughed. "Good to meet you, Asbel." I ruffled his hair too, and Asbel grinned up at me. "We'll explain what's all happened later. Let's get to the others. Wherever they are."

"They're by the children," Asbel explained, pointing. I made a show of looking around before shrugging. "Oh, right. No light. Er… follow me, actually. I've been in here long enough for my eyes to adjust."

"Thank you."

Thanks to Asbel, we reunited with the others just as Lifis and Lara finished picking the locks of the cells, so we got to help with the children. Just as we got the last of them out of the cells, torches flared at the north, bathing the warm in a surprisingly harsh light. My eyes watered and I struggled to wipe away the streaming tears. But even through blurry vision, I could see the source of the torches: guards. Lots and lots of guards. Almost like they had been _waiting_ for us to free the children, just to rub the loss in our faces. Still, no one was willing to give up without a fight, so everyone brought up their weapons, though I focused more on moving the civilians and children away from the potential battle. But the 'battle' didn't exactly proceed as one would expect.

"What's that sound?" Leif's quiet, almost absent, question broke the tension in the air. "That song?" he continued, looking this way and that. Trying to find the source. "It's pretty."

"Leif, there's no song?" I replied hesitantly, worried he might've taken a head injury. With things as chaotic as they were, it wouldn't be a surprise. "At all."

"But I swear I hear one."

"And I swear there's…" I trailed off as I began hearing a sound too. Quiet at first, and growing louder, but not too loud. Soothing and drifting on the air. Peaceful, soothing, calming. All my anxieties and fears just… floated away and all that existed was the song. "This is…" Distantly, I noticed the Magi group smiling, and Karin gasping. The rest of us were confused, yet calm. Because it was impossible to be anything else. "What _is_ this…?" Sobs eventually caught my ear and I looked to our enemies to see some had fallen to their knees, crying. For some reason.

"What are you doing?!" Not all fell, though, and the ones who stood actually kicked their crying comrades. "Get up, you lazy bastards!" It was like the song didn't reach them at all. "Get up and-!"

"Do not yell at them, for the tears are not their fault." Amidst the song, a gentle and calm voice whispered. "The sylphs peered into their hearts, and found the kindness that they swallow in order to survive this hellscape," the voice continued. "You who still stand… you who still wish to fight… you are the ones who have been judged and found wanting." The wind suddenly whipped into a frenzy. I had to grab onto the bars of the cells to keep from flying off my feet and I had to close my eyes to protect them! "Now, know your judgement."

The wind now shrieked into a fury, swallowing up all sounds from gasps to screams. It was like all of existence had become the wind itself and soon, it would steal every single part of me. But then it slowly calmed, all rage gone. Tentatively, I opened my eyes and I could only gape at the sight I saw. Blood. Blood was _everywhere_. Mush was everywhere, and it took a moment to realize that the mush had once been bodies. I only figured it out by noticing that there were pieces of armor and clothing scattered every which way. But it had only been the enemies who hadn't cried. Everyone else in the room, from us and the children to the crying Manster soldiers… we were all just fine.

"Soldiers who remain, please, return to your homes." A boy stepped out then, wearing… well, he wore white and that automatically marked him as someone rich. White was hard to keep pristine, especially as pristine as this boy's cloak and pants, though he did wear a simpler shirt with light leather armor. In his hands was a tome that almost seemed to shimmer in the dull torchlight. "Your hearts are still whole and kind," he continued, smiling with surprising gentleness. "This world is too cruel to take away that kindness." Even more surprising, though, was that those soldiers did flee. They fled without a second thought! "Ha…" Only when the last one was out of sight did the boy sag. Since he happened to be close to me, I automatically went to support him. "My thanks, my lady. There's a storage room here. We can rest there."

"Please, go first, Lord Ced," Brighton murmured, bowing slightly to him. Karin, behind him, was glaring at Ced. "You've told us that using Forseti like that is tiring."

"Quite so, but the children…"

"We'll get them. Please, rest. Before Machyua scolds you."

"Yikes, now that is a threat." 'Ced' chuckled and… attempted to walk. He didn't quite manage it. And now that I looked, I could see his complexion was far too gray. "...My apologies, my lady, but I fear I will need further assistance."

"You talk way too formally," I noted, pulling his arm over my shoulder. He leaned on me without hesitation. "Come on." I helped him limp past the blood, frowning at them. "Why did it turn them to mush?"

"Forseti is a gentle breeze to allies and a hurricane to those who are not."

"Don't think I've seen a hurricane turn a person to mush, and I've seen the damages of a few hurricanes." Ith got hit a few times. "Oh, never mind. Is this open door that room?" He nodded, so we headed inside, with him stumbling at the threshold. I kept him upright, though, and got him sitting on one of the boxes stacked in the back. "Here we are…" Once I was sure he could sit up without assistance, I left the room briefly to snag one of the torches now burning on the wall. Took a bit of finangling to secure it inside, but I managed and turned to him with a smile. However, it faded when I noticed something that frankly startled me; he looked about Leif's age. "Hey, weird question, but how old are you?"

"Hmm? Ah, I am…" He paused, clearly thinking. "I am either fourteen or fifteen, my lady. I can't quite remember the date for the moment. I was born in 761, though." He smiled kindly, but I found no comfort in it. He was Mareeta's age. "It just occurred to me, though, that you might have been asking why it only killed some of the guards."

"I hadn't, but that was going to be my next question." I went to his side and began fussing over him, mostly loosening his collar and using the clean parts of my sleeve to mop his face. He really didn't look well, for all of his stoicism. "Though, if you'd rather not say…"

"It's no secret, truly. It's simply an ability of Forseti." He pulled a tome from his pack, a green one that almost seemed to shimmer in the torchlight. "Forseti is not only the god of wind, but the god of justice as well. So, his power is to be used for peace, to soothe raging tempers and the flames of war." He smiled bitterly. "Sure, I _could_ massacre everyone, but I'd run the risk of destroying… well, most of Manster, truth be told."

"I thank you for your restraint. Manster is rather pretty." I continued with my fussing. "In that case, though, might I ask why you haven't just killed Raydrik yet."

"I've considered it, but…" He sighed. "Doing so will bring the full might of the empire on Manster. In a worst case scenario, that would include the Schwarze Rosen."

"The what?" Never heard of them.

"Think of them as the Loptyrian's personal attack dogs." His voice became incredibly bitter and his expression went even more stoic. "They're sent to slaughter… no, that's too tame of a word. Obliterate. They're sent to obliterate 'rebellious cities'. The aftermath is nothing short of horrendous. Which is still too tame of a word, but I cannot think of any better." He paused, coughing to clear his throat. I wondered if he was forcing back tears. "They kill everyone from the elderly to the newly born. Butcher all the animals. Wither all the plants. Burn all the buildings, and sow the lands with salt so that nothing can grow there again."

"They what…?" I couldn't quite comprehend the words. "That's…!"

"So, ironically, the best way to keep Manster safe is to make sure Raydrik stays alive." He grumbled something under his breath. "Absolutely fantastic, isn't it?" He sighed then, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "My apologies."

"...For what?" My own voice went dry. "Giving me the answers to questions I asked?"

"For rambling. That isn't proper, especially to-"

"You know; you're the same age as my younger sister." Without thinking about it, I stroked his hair, just as I would to soothe Mareeta when had a nightmare. "Besides, you're not the first prince to babble at me. The things I've heard Leif rant about…" I crouched down a bit to smile at him. "Besides, you are neither my prince nor are you my leader. You lose nothing by talking to me."

"I… suppose so." He smiled back, and though it was small and tired, there was a genuine warmth in it. "You remind me a bit of Misha. Must be an elder sister thing."

"It's the role of the older sibling to protect their younger siblings. Just like their role is to drive their older siblings absolutely insane." I giggled, and he actually chuckled, though he was quick to muffle it. "Anyway, I've just been fussing. Anything I can do to help-"

"Prince Ced!" Just then, Karin burst into the room and almost immediately bowed. Seriously, it was so quick that I thought she'd pitch forward and hit the floor! "I am so glad to see you safe," she whispered, straightening just as quickly. "You are hard to find!"

"Karin?" Ced said, blinking slowly. It was the only real sign of any sort of shock. "Karin, what are you doing here?" He held up a hand to stop her from replying. "No, wait, let me rephrase. Why are you here looking for me?" He waited for an answer, but Karin hesitated, clearly reluctant. That, however, was enough of an answer for him. "Oh. I see. Mother died."

"Yes…" Karin began crying, looking down and clutching at her skirt. "It's been… it's been two months. I think. Time is weird when you're imprisoned."

"...Ha…" Ced smiled so bitterly. "I was too late. I just… wanted her to see Father one more time." He closed his eyes and didn't cry. I found that so strange, but maybe the hurt was too deep. "How is Fee? My guess is crying when alone, and putting on a smile in public."

"Yes…" Karin clenched her fists and jerked her head up to glare at him. "And yet, here you are! You… you left her alone! You call yourself the prince of Silesse, yet you abandoned your duty!"

"I did. I picked my mother over my duty and my own fears over my sister's. I could do nothing but watch Mother fade away from her illness, so I looked for Father in the hopes he could help." He laughed softly, but it sounded hollow. "And then I picked strangers over them. I guess I am truly my father's son."

"What are you doing in Manster anyway?"

"I first went to Darna, remembering from the stories that Father Claude had been in the group that ran to the south. Sadly, all I learned there was that Father Claude had been killed by the Imps and that someone matching Father's description had been seen here in Manster." Ced sighed, and I noticed how rigidly he sat. But still, no tears. "When I got here, though, I saw the turmoil they were in, and I had to help. I've some skill with healing, and I have the wind. I couldn't abandon them."

"...Of course you couldn't. Queen Erinys would've scolded you severely if you had…" Karin looked down again. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled, or judged you so harshly."

"Well, I _did_ abandon Fee and she was stuck watching Mother die. Alone." Ced closed his eyes briefly. "Femina and Hawk? I know Misha took up mercenary work."

"They're in Silesse still, with Fee."

"Good…" Ced clenched his fist on the tome, almost like he was holding onto his emotions or something. "Karin, I will remain here to continue helping. It's a cruelty to my sister and our people, but the things these people suffer cannot be ignored. They need protection, and none will give it." He waited for Karin to raise her head. "I'd like you to assist Leif, though. A flier will be invaluable to him, and if Leonster is recovered… I believe that will help the people here in Manster. _And_ in Silesse, ultimately."

"O-of course!" Though she still cried, Karin straightened and saluted. "I'll do whatever I can to help!" She hesitated a bit and then clasped her hands in front of her. "Um… Prince Ced?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think there's actually a chance?"

"I hope so and… well…" Ced smiled warmly, but something about it looked practiced. Maybe I was just fretting, though. "I heard some interesting rumors while in Darna. Something about these Scions of Light who are hidden and protected by Isaach and her people. The one they whisper about the most, though, is the true crown prince of the empire, Prince Seliph, the son of Sigurd." Ced's smile softened into something hopeful, and tired. "Sigurd saved Silesse during its Civil War and left Silesse ultimately to try and protect its people from the cruel ambitions of Grannvale's nobility. He was someone both of my parents placed their trust in, and unlike my father, he actually lived up to it, right until the end. So, I think that we can trust and place our faith in him. We simply must do what we can to ensure as many people as possible live until that point."

"Of course, your highness!"

Everyone slowly crowded into the room, with the children first so that they could get as many hugs as possible. They cried from fear and relief, and we did our best to calm them down. Ced actually pulled a flute from his pouch and began playing little songs to lift their spirits, taking requests. Dalshin, meanwhile, led the more fighter people to a nearby storage room, which had excess weapons that we could use. I stayed in the corner, focused on calming some of the youngest children and pretended that, for a moment, that all was right in the world.

Mother… Mareeta… Nanna… please be safe...

* * *

_Eyvel, late thirties or early forties_

_Leader of Fiana, a woman suffering from amnesia who takes care of Fiana and the surrounding villages in gratitude for them taking care of her. She wonders a lot about her past, worried for the people she might've left, but enjoys the life that she does have, not willing to trade it for anything._

_A talented swordswoman, but she is beginning to feel the effects of her age. Not to mention her spending most of her time managing Fiana, and wrangling the children into doing chores. Despite this, though, her skill is enough to make many fear her. And if you put a bow in her hand… there isn't a target she can't hit._

_Thinks the world of her daughters, Mareeta and Eleri, calling both of them the lights of her life. She frequently prays that both will find happiness, and includes Leif and Nanna in those prayers as well, because children shouldn't have to suffer. And she's willing to tear the heart out of a god to make sure all of them stay safe._

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's notes: So (properly) begins the Manster Escape, a series of chapters widely regarded as where Fe5 lives up to its reputation as being one of the hardest FE game in the series. Out of your previous chars, you only have Leif and Lifis. You gain new units, half of which are mounted (meaning they're crippled indoors. Fergus is notably less crippled due to his awesomeness) and you've got extra objectives of freeing civilians in this chapter (and its subsequent side chapter). And you have no healer for these chapters. _And_ the enemy is competent enough to actually _take your inventory_ ; you regain all the items in Chapter 4 by unlocking the chests conveniently on the map. Oh, and Chapter 4x is also a fog of war map. What also makes these maps unique is that they're escape maps, the first ones of the game (and, I think, the series). And, as implied in the chapter, Leif _has_ to be the last one. Anyone left behind is captured and you don't get a chance to get them back until _way_ later in the game.
> 
> But speaking of the new units, you get Lara (your second thief who gets a rather unique 'promotion' if you have her talk with someone in a certain chapter), Fergus (already mentioned), Brighton (one of your tanks for this series of chapters, and stuck using swords because dismounting), Machyua (your first myrmidon [Eyvel is a swordmaster]), Karin (your first flier, and your only flier for a good while), and Dalshin (your first Armor Knight, your other tank, and your source of indoor axes and lances for these maps). Brighton and Machyua aren't shown to be lovers during the one scene they get, but their epilogues hint that they marry after the game. There's also nothing about 'Machyua' being the name of a folklore hero in-universe, but I thought it would be fun.
> 
> Chapter 4x is also where Ced makes his appearance, wielding Forseti. He's an NPC and his job is to obliterate enemies while you free the children NPCs that are locked up here (and you want to do this because Chapter 6 gives rewards for it) and help Asbel over to you so that you get your first mage. There's nothing in-lore that suggests Grafcalibur has _any_ relation to Forseti or that Asbel and Ced made it, but the spell _is_ the personal tome of Asbel and can only be described as 'ridiculous'. Might of 13 and a base critical of _40%_ (and that's not even going into PCC). It's also light, which is good because attack speed for tomes is (unit speed - tome weight) in this game. And with Ced comes Forseti! I based its appearance here off it's first appearance in _Memoirs of the Holy War_. In FE5, it is just as broken as it was in FE4. The strongest weapon in the game and it boosts both his skill _and_ speed by 20. So, at max speed, he's got 34 attack speed (meaning he's doubling _everything_ because all stats, save HP, cap at 20). Ced's not quite at max speed in this chapter, four points short, but he still murders everything. (Actually, 'Ced murders everything' kind of summarizes his appearances in both FE4 and FE5. There's a reason why the common consensus in the fandom is: "enemies who attack Ced deserve to die".)
> 
> (Also, these chapters are great for showcasing just why I delayed the start of Gen2 to 779 in this story. I don't believe there's a canon age for Ced in this game, but he's at least around the same age as Leif. Leif is canonically 15 years old at the start of the story, Nanna is 14, Asbel is around the same age... Yet they're having to lead armies, deal with the weight of everyone's hopes, making vows to live and die by each other. And some of the other children-chars like Patty and Tine and Coirpre are even younger. Yeah.)
> 
> The Schwarze Rosen don't appear in-game until Chapter 14, but I figured they would serve as a good reason for why Ced hasn't killed Raydrik yet. Misha is a char who shows up much later in the game.
> 
> Mareeta and Nanna don't appear in Chapter 4 in game, but as I mentioned before, the timeline of this story is going to be longer than the game, and here's where one of the timeskips happens. So, I decided to have Mareeta and Nanna around. As for Conall, Ishtar, and Julius… there's an ending scene in game that shows Ishtar, Julius, and Manfroy talking with Veld. Sara's oneshot in _Memoirs of the Lost_ shows that Conall is also along for the trip, so have the trio showing up (and a bit of Julius during the early years of his possession).
> 
> With Baldr minor and Njorun minor blood, Leif has a +20% to strength. Nanna, as a Hezul minor, has +30%. Holy Blood doesn't play much of a role in FE5, but they're fun, so. And I probably should've mentioned this before, but while there are scrolls in FE5 to help 'adjust' growth rates and whatnot, I'm leaving them out for simplicity's sake, just as I left the rings of FE4 out of _Memoirs of the Holy War_.
> 
> Next Chapter - Mother and Child


	5. Chapter Five) Mother and Child

Chapter Five) Mother and Child

* * *

_Things are a whirlwind. A phrase that's perhaps oddly appropriate considering… a few factors. We were rescued from the prisons by the Magi Group, who are led by Ced, heir to Silesse. Asvel, an old friend of Leif's and a master of wind magic, has also joined us. And, though Leif hasn't been told yet, Karin, a pegasus knight of Silesse, will be leaving with us. Lots of wind associations._

_Things like that keep me amused as we make our way out of the prisons with all the prisoners. Not just us, of course, but the rest as well. But it's hard, because some are very young, some are very old, some are injured, and some keep flinching and stopping for fear of what would happen if we're caught again. It makes for slow going, but that's not what scares me. No, what scares me is that I killed my first person… and I didn't care. I still didn't. It was easier than killing a sheep for mutton. No, worse. I felt more for the animal than I did for..._

_What the hell was wrong with me?_

* * *

"Easy, you're doing great," I whispered, helping a little girl up the stairs. She wobbled on them, due to how steep they were and how tired she was. "Here, just keep holding onto my hand." I didn't need to say that, of course. If she held my hand any tighter, I'd have broken bones. But I might as well reassure her. "You won't be left behind. I promise."

I repeated the words a few times, in the hopes that she would at least try to believe them if I said it enough. I knew I wasn't the only one; all of us tried to do what we could to keep everyone's spirits up. Up ahead, I saw Karin reassuring a crying woman as they climbed, rubbing her back and helping her forward. Near them was Fergus, who kept some others' spirits up by telling them of some ridiculous jobs he'd been on. Leif and Asvel talked quietly while walking behind a couple of the adults who had refused help, but still needed some support because these stairs were just… not the best. Seriously, I was glad we weren't heading _down_ them. I would've felt like I was falling!

When we made it to the top, despite how dangerous it was, we just… had to stop. Only the Magi Group could keep going. The rest of us were… well, we'd been imprisoned and only today had gotten any semblance of a good meal. It would be a while before we were at full strength. But the Magi didn't mind. They smiled and joked a little, easing our rattled nerves. Machyua helped a young man through a panic attack (or, at least, hyperventilation). Ced manipulated the wind to blow a cool breeze to soothe us. Lara talked quietly with a few of the children, something I couldn't hear, while Brighton fussed over one of the elderly former-prisoners, making her laugh.

"Whoa… big doggie…" At a child's murmur, I began looking around for said 'dog', wondering just what they were talking about. I froze when I found it, though, because I recognized the large creature with deep black fur: the wolf from before. Though, she wasn't growling now. Instead, she gently nosed a few of the children curiously, licking their faces and hands and letting them pet her. In general, just… comforting and cheering up the children. And it worked, because despite her size, she was gentle. So, the children were overjoyed and smiling and as wonderful and cute as that was...

"Well, this is awkward." The wolf had an owner, and he had just found us. Stupid of us to not have been paying more attention. "I wish Diadora was alive so I could hear her laugh at how many awkward situations you get me in, Hekate," Conall (Prince Conall) noted with a sigh. He was far more tense than he had been before, and for some reason, his fist was bloody. Like he'd punched a wall or something. "Well, I suppose my memories will be good enough for that." Though, if he was here, then was...

"Conall, why are you being morbid?" And there was Ishtar, appearing with a damp handkerchief. "I told you to stay where you were," she scolded, completely ignoring us to take Conall's hand and wipe the blood off. I tried to get some of the children to step away from the wolf, but no such luck. They were enthralled. "Not go wandering off to be melodramatic."

"Well, hard to not be morbid when you've seen lots of people die." Conall grinned and Ishtar gave him a look. "What? I have. Death is a normal part of life."

"It's just me. You don't have to fall back on that as a shield. I know Diadora's death hurt you deeply."

"I am _so_ not emotionally stable enough for that conversation, and also, you are very blind." He used his free hand to point at us, who were awkwardly still standing exactly where we were because this was very… well, awkward. And we were still tired. And the children were still petting the wolf, oblivious to it all. "See now?"

"Oh, freaking heck." Ishtar gawked at us for a moment, before finishing cleaning Conall's injured fist. She then pulled a dry handkerchief out of her pocket to use as a bandage. "You couldn't have said something earlier?!"

"You were scolding me." Conall's grin became impish and she scowled in return. "Also, 'freaking heck'? Really?"

"Diadora said that we couldn't curse until we came of age and unlike you, I listen." Ignoring Conall's skeptical look, she huffed and faced us with a frown. One that deepened when she focused on the children. "Why are they here?"

"...They are victims of the Child Hunts," Ced answered softly. Despite Brighton trying to stop him, he stepped up front. He seemed just as serene as always, with a glimmer of… something in his eyes. It took a moment to figure out it was 'knowing' and I realized with a start that he… he must have known they were near. And waited for them. And that was why, despite not being surprised, he had not moved us along. "We want to take them home."

"And the adults?"

"Some were gathered up for trying to protect their children. Others, just because…" Ced hesitated for a moment, glancing at a few of the flinchers. "Because they were attractive."

"...Freaking Raydrik…" Ishtar growled. But despite that anger, she looked so _sad_ , like a wilted flower. Conall rubbed her back with his non-bandaged hand. "Father made a huge mistake, making him a lord." She closed her eyes for a moment, nodded, and then met Ced's gaze with eyes that crackled with determination. "Okay. I'll help you get them out, then. Don't give me names; I want plausible deniability."

"You have my thanks, miss."

"I can't call myself a descendant of a Crusader and support these Child Hunts. No matter how much Julius justifies them." A dark look crossed her face, but it quickly disappeared when she glanced at Conall, who was carefully stoic. "What will you do? I know you were on your way towards the arena before taking offense with the wall."

"And I'll continue heading that way," Conall replied with a shrug. Leif and I, however, exchanged a look because it was possible that… "I want to see if I can get that swordswoman out, or at least the young girl they threw in. They remind me of people I know _and_ I'm not exactly fond of watching people suffer for sport. Not to mention I've heard of how gladiator matches messed up my father for life." Conall searched our group and found me easily. Probably helped by how the wolf had moved to my side. "It's your mother and… sister? Friend? The one with blond hair. I don't know where the other one is."

"Then that's where El… er…" Leif began. He paused, though, and smiled sheepishly. "Uh… my sister and I will go with you.

"Sounds fine to me. Give me your names on the way."

"Er… Plausible deniability?"

"I have a very convenient excuse for about ninety perfect of the trouble I get in, and it's called 'Hekate'." He whistled lowly and gestured for the wolf (Hekate) to come to his side. After a moment, she did, pressing against his leg affectionately. "Best path to the arena is this way."

"Thank you."

"You three… I want you to accompany them," Ced ordered, facing Brighton. He nodded immediately, as did Machyua and Lara. "They will need your skills more than me for the time being." He smiled and then looked back to Ishtar and Conall. "Thank you, by the way. I'm glad I listened to the wind."

With that order and… rather odd statement… well, that started a lot of shifting about. Exchanges of weapons, handing off charges… to my surprise, most of our group accompanied Leif and me. In fact, only Ced remained with the children, and led them away with Ishtar who, surprisingly, had Hekate with her. Though, since Hekate let herself be used as a crutch for the teetering and helped nudge the stragglers, perhaps it wasn't actually a surprise at all.

Conall, meanwhile, took charge of our group, striding forward with purpose. I thought it stupid at first, but then realized that there… actually weren't that many guards. And the few we encountered were easily tricked into leaving between either Conall or Dalshin (since no one knew about Dalshin's change in sides yet). It was… strange. Though I couldn't say that I was upset by it. I wasn't in a hurry to fight again. I wasn't in a hurry to seeing if my second kill would make me feel as apathetic as the first.

"How far are we from the arena?" I asked Conall during one of the times we had to hide while Dalshin talked to the guards. It was just the two of us, as the others were divided among other alcoves or convenient statues. Nothing that would hold up if the guards were actually patrolling, but they were content with chatting. "Are we close?"

"We are," Conall confirmed, leaning against the wall. He seemed… completely nonchalant about all of this. Though I supposed he had the least to lose if we did get caught. "It's just a couple doors down, more or less."

"I see." Mother… Nanna… just hold on a little longer… Ah, that reminded me. "Do you mind if I ask what you meant by how my mother and little sister remind you of people?" It was best just to pretend and, besides, Nanna basically _was_ my little sister.

"More or less exactly what the words imply?" It was near impossible to tell if he just sounded naturally sarcastic or if he was mocking me. "Your mother reminds me of my caretaker, while your sister reminds me of a good friend." He smiled, but it was startingly bitter. "I'm just saving them because I have a stupid hope that if I can manage it, then maybe my caretaker, my friend, and everyone else is okay."

"Caretaker?"

"Well, one of them. There was… oh, wait, that wasn't your question." He smiled sheepishly for a moment. "It doesn't spread because of how bad it sounds, but I didn't come to Belhalla willingly. Before the army traversed Yied, my parents sent my twin sister and I to safety with some others and eventually, I was kidnapped by Imperial Troops and dragged there. If not for Ishtar, I would've run away and probably gotten myself killed." He shrugged, unbothered. I, personally, felt a bit ill because I knew well what it was like to have your life turned upside down violently. And part of me wondered what he meant by 'the army'. "But it means I have no idea how my family is, the one I was taken from. Where they are, how they're doing… so, as I said, stupid hope."

"Bit surprised you'd tell a stranger that you were kidnapped."

"I got raised by the person who tricked and betrayed my mother, and dropped meteors on her friends and family for the sake of a 'better world' that is now going to hell in a handbasket." He really did have a perfect sarcastic tone. "Plus, as I said, I didn't come have a choice. I don't care who knows. It's the people who have to maintain a good reputation for the royal family who cares. Not like it matters nowadays, thanks to Arvis being stupid at the worst times. Well, probably less 'stupid' and more 'overconfident' or whatever."

"I… uh… see?" I had no idea what he was talking about. But I did get the sense that he was rambling from stress. Though it could be me projecting. "But, ah, still wasn't my question, actually."

"Oh. Whoops." He grinned, like he hadn't just been talking about… what he had been talking about. "Maybe I should just let you talk instead of assuming? Sorry about that…"

"Not the first time I had to deal with that. Or _did_ that." I had to smile, just a little, and I wondered how old he was. He looked to be about Leif's age. "I was asking about why did you use 'caretaker'. Why don't you call her 'mother'?"

"Ah." And that grin disappeared in a heartbeat. "Simple, really. It's because mothers die in horrible ways. Same with fathers. Especially when they're in the way of people's goals. I learned that long ago." He glanced down the hall, leaving me to try and process that pessimistic statement. "He's waving us forward. Shall we?"

The answer was, of course, 'yes'. We made our quick, yet quiet, way down the hall and around some corners. We had to hide one more time, but eventually, we made it. Of course, when we did, we discovered that the door was locked. Because of course it was. Without a word, Lara pushed herself forward and tried to unlock it, but only succeeded in bending two lockpicks past usability. Because, of course, it had to be a _difficult_ lock.

"Oh, for fu… er… just move," Lifis sighed, taking one of her lockpicks and not _quite_ shoving Lara out of the way. Still enough to make Machyua narrow her eyes. "For a castle lock, you need to hold it differently." And in what simultaneously felt like two seconds and two years, Lifis clicked the lock open. But… ah… the door didn't open. "The hell?"

"It opens inward, since we can't have gladiators having an easy way to escape, even in the case of an emergency," Conall explained dryly. His eyes were narrowed, glinting with a hard light that seemed… "Hey, if anyone is sitting against the door, you're preventing us from opening it."

"Ah, sorry!" Nanna's muffled, answering voice was frantic, but it was hers and gods, I almost cried. "Wait, it opens? It's unlocked? Oh, _there's_ the gods-darned handle!" The door opened with a creaking, scraping groan and there was Nanna, whiter than a ghost and tears streaming down her face as she stared at us with wide eyes. "G-go help Eyvel!" she insisted, gesturing down the stairs. "And Mareeta and… gods, I don't know what's going on!"

My instinct was to reassure her, but she was so distraught that I just went in ahead, half-falling down the stairs as I entered the arena 'proper'. I wasn't sure initially sure what was wrong. At first, it seemed like it was just Mother fighting a large number of people. But then I slowly realized that her feet weren't moving. Then it was her legs, because something gray was… was slowly climbing up her body, freezing her in place. No, not just 'freezing'... because 'freezing' didn't leave 'gray' behind. And not just any 'gray'. Stone. Whatever force this was, it was turning her into stone. Painfully. I knew it was painful. It had to be. Her skin cracked and bled where it 'met' the stone, shortly before hardening. But even still, she fought to protect Nanna. She fought fiercely and without hesitation, until there were only a few left. Until her torso became stone and she could move no more. Only wait for the inevitable end as it slowly reached her neck…!

"Mother!" I couldn't help but scream. I couldn't help but call to her. I couldn't help but rush forward, one arm outstretched, even though there was nothing I could do. Mother heard me, of course. And, despite the pain she was in, she made a point to look back at me and smile reassuringly. And that was the expression she had on her face when the spell reached her face, and finished transforming her into a statue. Pained, tired, but smiling.

I'd seen such an expression before. On my birth-mother's face, before she died to save me. And now, I just lost my mother. Again.

"Eleri, you need to move!" I wasn't sure who shouted. But I listened automatically, and just barely avoided being bisected by a sword thrumming with a dark light. It took a couple of blinks to realize the wielder of that sword was Mareeta. A crying, dead-eyed Mareeta, who tried to run me through. And she would've succeeded if Fergus hadn't blocked it for me. After all, I could only stare. Why was Mareeta… what was going on? I couldn't... nothing made sense...

"Look, sometimes, you have to do things you don't want to do in order to survive!" It took a second to realize what those words meant, mostly because everything just seemed to be moving so very slowly. But it all clicked together when I saw Fergus swing for Mareeta. No doubt he was just trying to protect us. He didn't know Mareeta. He didn't know this was horribly abnormal. He had no idea that this wasn't, and couldn't be, a betrayal.

But Mareeta was my sister. Mareeta was my precious little sister, dearest in my heart. So, I did the only thing I could do. After all, I was her older sister. It was my _job_ to protect her.

Someone screamed as a blade ripped across my back. It might have been me. But I didn't care. "Hey, Mareeta?" I whispered once I gathered my thoughts. Despite the pain that almost made my knees buckle, I hugged her tightly. She growled and screamed in my ear, struggled to break away, but I still held her. "I'm here. It's Eleri. I'm okay. Nanna's okay. Leif's okay." Mareeta still struggled, and she actually managed to cut my leg. And it hurt a lot. But I still held her, because she was my little sister. "It's going to be okay. I love you so much." Though she still growled, she did slowly stop fighting me. "It's going to be okay. We're going to help you. So, just hold on to the fact that I love you and-" And someone cracked Mareeta across the head right then, knocking her out cold. "Mareeta!" I couldn't bear her weight and mine, so we both collapsed, but I still held on to her. That damned blade she'd held clattered to the ground. "Mareeta!"

"She's just unconscious." An unknown voice, belonging to the unknown person who loomed over me. They were expressionless with eyes that barely held a flicker of life in them. "Give her here," they whispered, kneeling down and reaching for Mareeta. I glared and pulled her closer to me. "There's a bishop. Bishops heal people." He spoke very slowly, like he thought I was an idiot or something. Well, maybe he just thought I was in shock, which I'm sure I was, and took longer to process things, but I wasn't inclined to be charitable at the moment! "I'm going to take her there. Unless you have a bishop among your motley crew."

"Cyas should be in the southwestern wing," Conall noted, reminding me that there were other people around. He was frowning and I noticed her actually had fire swirling around the fingers of one hand. The other fiddled with his dangling earring. I didn't see the others. "He's the only bishop around here, and he specializes in curse-breaking."

"See?" The person focused on me. "So, either I take her, or you keep knocking her out until you find a bishop. But you can't talk her down forever." He spoke so absently, like he didn't care at all. "Bit of a miracle you got her to calm at all."

"I'm supposed to trust a random brute?" I asked dryly, fighting off the urge to snarl. But, if they _could_ help her… protecting didn't always mean being near the person. And, truthfully, I knew there wasn't time. Even if things had been moving slowly for me, they had to moving fast elsewhere. Leif and Nanna, at least, had to escape Manster. "Oh, how the gods favor me, for me to have to entrust one of my most precious people to someone like you." I wanted to cry, but instead I kissed Mareeta's forehead and held her close. "It's going to be okay, Mareeta. I'll find you. I promise." Then, reluctantly, feeling like I was ripping my own heart out, I passed her to the person. "Your name?"

"Galzus," the person replied, picking Mareeta up and standing. At least he held her with gentle care. "Just a mercenary."

"I'm Eleri. I'm her sister." I somehow managed to stand, though I nearly buckled as a wave of pain slammed into me. I hurt. A lot. Who knew how much I had bled? But… "And if she comes to harm because of this, I will hunt you down and make you beg for death."

"That so?" He leaned down slightly, to look me in the eye. I just glared, unwavering. I wouldn't falter here. "...You have death's eyes." He smiled bitterly. "Didn't think I'd see someone like that outside the mercenary or gladiator life." He straightened and walked over to where the blade had fallen, using a scarf to pick it up. "She will be safe. You have my word… and my desire to not die painfully."

He left then. He carried Mareeta (gently, and I swore that if he didn't, I would've run up to kick him or something) out of the arena. Conall, meanwhile, took my arm and led me out the door and down the hall, until we could duck down a side hall. There, he began checking my injuries, perfectly quiet. Waiting for me to speak, if I wanted to at all.

"Why did you wait?" I whispered dully. I was glad the others hadn't, but… "You're not…"

"I knew Leif and Nanna wouldn't have left unless someone promised," Conall answered easily. I guessed he had learned Nanna's name during that time I couldn't process anything. "I know what it's like, to have to leave people behind. So do they." He shrugged and moved behind me to study my back. "I… also might have been prepared to set him on fire. Galzus might be a skilled mercenary, but he's attached to flammable things. Would've been enough to run, if the need came." Ha… so, he had stayed to also help Mareeta… "Damn it, I would leave my staves back in my room." Conall sighed and leaned around me to look at me worriedly. "Your back… it's been bleeding a lot. I can get you to the infirmary, but I'm not sure if you'd be able to escape. Certainly not with your group."

"I'm not leaving them."

"Figured as much. So, the other option…" He trailed off, looking almost uncomfortable. "You are bleeding badly. Like… needs stitches or magic. Which we don't have without going to the infirmary. However, I _do_ have fire…"

"You're suggesting cauterization."

"Well, you could also bleed out, but that's cold." He snapped his fingers and a small flame appeared. One that quickly grew larger, the size of his palm. Showing me the flame before I either agreed or disagreed. "This… ah… will to hurt. A lot. And you're _really_ going to want someone to properly look and tend to it. Burned skin gets easily infected."

"Got it." I closed my eyes and thought about what just happened. Mother… Mareeta… I… "I doubt it'll be the worst pain I experienced."

"Well, might be the worst physical pain." And, without another word, he began cauterizing.

It… hurt. It hurt a lot. I didn't really have words for it, or the nauseating feeling of smelling my own skin burning. I bit my lip both to keep quiet and to keep from throwing up. I stood rigidly to keep upright. But it was done quickly. More quickly than I expected. Which was a blessing.

"Not the prettiest thing, but I think I kept it minimal," Conall noted. I glanced back to see him take off his jacket and drape it over my shoulders, like a cape. "Your leg has stopped bleeding, for now. Try to get something tied around it as soon as possible." With ease, he took my hand and led me forward. "This way."

"Thank you."

He waved off the thanks and simply walked forward, much slower than before to account for my leg. And to give me a little more time to get my head on straight. We ran into no guards; no doubt they had been sent away by Dalshin. Though, I also knew it wouldn't be long at all before someone noticed that the prisons were empty. Then we would really be in trouble.

As we were walking down a badly lit hallway, Conall paused suddenly and looked back, frowning. "Someone is coming," he whispered, nudging me towards an alcove. "I'll lead them away. Keep following this hallway and you'll find a servant's entrance. It'll get you outside the castle on the outskirts of the town." He waited for me to nod before leaving me, glancing back only once to make sure I was hidden.

I leaned against the wall (as much as I could given my back) and took the opportunity to catch my breath and to steel my resolve to keep on going. I ached. I hurt. Not just physically, but mentally too. What had Mother done to deserve this? What had Mareeta? I wanted so much to rip whoever did it apart. Rip them apart into tiny pieces, one joint at a time…

I stilled at the thought, but not because of how… violent it was. It was because of how I felt at it. There was no anger behind it, really. Sure, I was _furious_ , but the thought didn't feel like it was driven by fury. It was… the actual thought didn't spark anything in me. It didn't feel like an exaggeration born from anger. It was just… there. Like I could do it, if I thought about it. And that I might not care if I _did_.

Which, of course, reminded me of what Galzus had said. 'Death's eyes'... what even was that? Was it a bad thing? Sounded like it. I wished I'd had the presence of mind to ask. Maybe Fergus knew. Maybe it was some mercenary term… thing...

"Conall! There you are!" A peek out the alcove showed Julius rushing down the hall, beaming up at Conall. Ishtar was with him, smiling in relieved serenity. I didn't see Hekate. "Any luck finding Hekate?" Julius asked, unintentionally answering my unthought question. I hoped Ced and our charges were fine. "Ishtar says that she is really playful at the moment."

"No, I haven't and I've even lost my coat to the hunt," Conall sighed, shaking his head. When Ishtar frowned, he just winked. "Are you helping me too?"

"Of course! You're one of my most precious people! And with that said..." Julius frowned up at him worriedly, reaching up to touch his face. "Are you okay? You're pale."

"...I am not fond of arenas, Julius, because of how much my father suffered as a gladiator. I know enough about him to know that, at least." Conall smiled bitterly, though he ruffled Julius's hair reassuringly. "Plus, there was what happened to that woman. Turning into stone like that…" I thought of the reason why he had wanted to help, and winced. His caretaker… I was sure… no, I prayed she was okay. Unlike Mother… "She was in so much pain… plus they did something to her daughter to make her berserk… the whole thing was just…"

"You didn't like it?"

"I loathed it."

"Okay." Julius smiled sweetly, almost too sweetly. Saccharine. "I'll take care of… ah! Perfect timing!" Julius turned as two older men wearing dark cloaks joined the trio. I didn't know them. But there was something about them that made me uneasy. "Veld, give me the Stone tome." Julius held out his hand, his expression and tone implying that he had no doubts he would be obeyed. Which meant he frowned when Veld didn't do so immediately. "Now."

"It is my only copy for now, my prince…" Veld began slowly, edging away. Julius simply glared, uncaring. "Might I ask-?"

"Give it to me, or I will take it from your corpse," Julius replied coolly, each word an icicle made to stab the ears. I half-swore I saw his breath from the cold. "Three seconds… two…"

"Here, my prince." Veld hastily shoved it at Julius before half-hiding behind the other man. "I am…"

"Quiet." Julius flipped through it absently, snapped his fingers to produce a flame, and began burning it, starting with the middle. "I wonder if I can make some pictures from it." He continued burning, even humming a little bit. Ishtar took Conall's hand discreetly and leaned into him. "Manfroy, I want all copies of this spell destroyed, and no more created." Again, Julius spoke as if he had no doubts he would be obeyed. Unlike Veld, this Manfroy simply nodded. "Conall hates it and torture is wrong. There's no fun in watching someone suffer. Struggle, sure. But not suffer."

Since they were decidedly _not_ looking my way, I took the opportunity to escape, rushing down the hall as fast as I could, even when the wound on my leg reopened. And, as I ran, I thought about Julius and just… what was with him? It almost seemed like he thought of everything as a game? But that was… well, it wasn't my problem. Not right now, at least. Right now, I… I had to get away. I had to make sure Leif and Nanna escaped. I had to… I had to...

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's notes: Not sure I've had a chapter that was a single, long scene in one of my FE novelizations before (watch me be proven wrong). In-game, there's no Julius or Ishtar or Manfroy (but, as I mentioned in the previous chapter, we know they are near), but I thought it would be good for showing some more characterization.
> 
> The slow transformation into stone is based off the cipher card. And yes, Eyvel gets turned to stone here and there's no way to save her from it. Fun fact: the game will actually rig the RNG for Eyvel in all battles prior to this point to make sure she doesn't die. Mareeta also appears with a cursed blade that's driven her psychotic, forcing her and Eyvel to fight (though, unless you make her, I don't think Eyvel actually will attack Mareeta). Because we really needed more reasons to be annoyed with Raydrik. While Nanna is around (and armed with staff and sword), she's a taaaad underleveled, so her main job is to hide by the door and heal Eyvel as needed for experience.
> 
> In-game, there are a lot more soldiers to fight (because FE5), but constant battling kind of messed with the flow of the chapter, so I decided to be nice to the chars. There's also chests (including one that is RIDICULOUSLY out of the way), but again, flow.
> 
> Next Chapter - The Escape


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